After Catching Fire
by obsidian dreamer
Summary: ...What should you do? When posed this question unexpectedly, the new Guildpact of Ravnicas' answer leads to consequences not even he or the fire could have possibly predicted...
1. Chapter 1 - Hold a Flame

**After Catching Fire**

A/N: Just getting back into MtG again and had a hectic week; the result was this little snippet between two of the games' new primary antagonists (man I'm looking forwards to Origins and a bit more history on these guys). If you like what you read please tick the survey in the A/N below, and for my usual Naruto readers don't worry; I'm still writing TMoK and Win Some but after the week I've had I needed to write something seriously irreverent rather than somewhat serious, as the next chapter of those fics are going to be!

For those of you who follow M:tG seriously, this fic takes place after Return to Ravnica and DotP 2014; Jace has been the Living Guildpact for about six months and Tarkir hasn't happened yet.

Hope you enjoy what you read; game on!

XXX

Chapter 1 – Catch a Flame.

He'd had his suspicions, but it was when he poked his head around the door and nearly had his nose taken off by a jab of pure fire that Jace Beleren confirmed it was indeed one of those days.

It was merely fortune, the part of his mind not working overtime to keep the body it occupied from bursting into flame mused, that he'd recovered from his shock slightly quicker than the woman who'd been making Lavinia's life miserable had from hers. Dousing a roar of fire with a word and grateful his opponent hadn't resorted to the boom spells yet Jace tried frantically to come up with a reason why she was even here but, on the back foot, was drawing blanks,

"Burn", she demanded, eyes nothing more than pits into hell as a red corona surrounded her, "with regards from Keral Keep mind-mage!" A crimson sphere gathered in her hand and he swore, bracing himself to disassemble or, at worst, redirect the hostile magic before someone else entered the fray. Standing from her office chair like an avatar of judgement Lavinia brandished a newly-written writ and thundered words feared the length and breadth of Ravnica,

"Cease and desist!"

The writing shone, a mixture of blue and white mana streaking towards the fire mage and, distracted by a hasty illusion, the pyromaster was struck by the arrestors' spell. Immediately her fires dimmed; Jace couldn't read the runes from this distance but whatever enchantment Lavinia had used must have been powerful having taken so long to craft. Even so their opponent struggled, her blazing form banked but not extinguished until Jace reinforced the binding with his own blue mana, cursing the heat of her magic; even through a remote media such as his spell the firebrand singed him. Fortunately two against one swiftly prevailed and as their attacker slumped to the floor insensate Jace took a second to catch his breath before looking to his assistant,

"You all right 'Vinia?"

"Yes", only the slightest hitch in her breath told of the duel she'd just been part of as she glared at the other woman contemptuously, "I'll send for the arrestors".

"No", not even she could hold her surprise as Jace, his eyes glowing slightly as he checked the binding, shot her down before she remembered the battle and drew a logical conclusion,

"You know her?"

"Vaguely; her name's Chandra Nalaar, a pyromancer".

"I figured that much out", Jace snorted gruffly at her sardonic humour before looking pensive, trying to solve the most obvious part to this puzzle,

"Why are you here?" He asked the comatose woman aloud, the sprawled red mages' curtain of crimson hair clashing horribly with the tepid blue carpet, "Did she say anything to you; I came out here because I heard raised voices, one of them yours – knew it was serious then".

"Less serious than after you arrived", the Azorius member countered, recalling the fiery conversation with the fiery woman, "she stormed in demanding to see the Guildpact and not taking no for an answer".

"Sounds like her," Jace groaned before looking thoughtful, "but why would she want that – she didn't mention me did she?"

"No; I believe our secrecy is still secure".

"Long may that continue", the Living Guildpact said with feeling; since his coronation as the mediator of the Guilds Jace had been careful to keep his head down, not needing yet another target on his back. Fortunately those he mediated had mostly helped in this regard, his identity lost in a tide of rumours and counter-rumours that suggested a hundred different outcomes to the end of the Dragons' Maze. Most assumed he was a Gateless who worked in the Guildmeet and it was true to an extent, though props such as the false scriptures and carefully-managed Dimir operations helped quell those getting closer to the truth and spread more rumours to obfuscate what was really going on. As far as he knew only twenty people, the former Maze Runners and their paruns, should know for definite he was the linchpin of Ravnican law and perhaps a handful of others might have suspicions; chances were Chandra seeing him here had been as much of a shock for her as it had for him, or so he hoped at least.

Sighing as he massaged away a headache Jace tried to think; what would possess a planeswalker, and a pyromancer at that, to stage a ram-raid on one of the most important buildings in Ravnica? The Guildmeet building wasn't secret; he did, after all, hold a public office; but getting to the back rooms and Lavinia herself without an appointment meant skulduggery and subterfuge somewhere along the line. In fact…

"She might have been trying to steal it; the Guildpact", he clarified, "if she thinks it's a physical document that'd make sense. It's how we met; she's a, historian of sorts, though not one enamoured with the law", he explained at Lavinia's raised eyebrow, hoping the arrestor wouldn't ask too many questions; there were some secrets he hadn't yet told even those closest to him,

"I see; shall I add attempted kidnap to her charge sheet?"

"Nah", Jace shook his head after snorting at Lavinia's gruff joke, "I think you're right; she doesn't know and I've no inclination to tell her. However that's the problem; I only think and that won't change without waking her up".

"You could… but you won't", Lavinia sighed, though in all honesty she couldn't blame the mind-mage – since his mind had been all but unravelled by forcing the consciousness of ten separate and struggling people together, her included, he had been reluctant to use his abilities for mental manipulation unless absolutely necessary,

"So what do we do now? We can't leave her there; she's making my office untidy".

"A capital offence", the Living Guildpact joked, grateful to see his co-worker snicker before turning grimmer and he knew why; the woman the arrestor had just taken down had blatantly committed offence against Ravnica itself and Lavinia, and he, couldn't let that slide. He could have let his assistant deal with it but, on the other hand, he did owe the other planeswalker his life; punishment was due but surely there was a way to cast his spell and remember it? Nothing came immediately to mind so, a little reluctantly, Jace thought back through everything he knew about the red caster, even those things he had no right to know.

One of the side effects of his branch of magic was that in contact with a hostile mind, usually when duelling, he was deluged with images completely unrelated to the matter at hand, sifting through such detritus to find something vital that would overwhelm his opponent. He usually naturally forgot or, if particularly disturbing, excised such rubbish but the events of the Infinite Consortium had prevented him scrubbing the fire mage from his mind and in this case it proved a blessing. A memory he unearthed from his subconscious, a small snippet of happier times for the pyromancer, was held and scrutinised, the mind-mage recognising something he might be able to use to get both answers and slake the need for any punishment the firebrand was due, punishment he, as a living legal document, was obligated to sanction. It was unusual and a little against normal protocol but these weren't normal circumstances; 'chastisement' and 'penance' were deliberately vague legal terms for a reason. Those legal reasons and the thought that, if he were right, such actions might give him a definite victory over the belligerent pyromancer had him quickly polish the idea up and turn to the Azorius as she considered their problematic interloper,

"Lavinia", there was a sly edge to his tone, "what would you say to having an extended lunch today, say for the rest of the afternoon?"

"I'd say what are you planning and how is Chanrah involved?"

"Chan-dra; getting her name wrong's likely a good enough reason for her to try setting you on fire, not that she usually gives a reason. I don't want to press charges; gods know a lot of people want to punch me in the face and she's good reason to be one of them; but I do need to find out why she's here and mete out any sentence she's earned. I think... yes, could you carry your chair into one of the spare offices?"

"My chair? Why?"

"Don't worry I'm not going to steal it", Jace assured her, knowing she was fond of her one indulgence, "you get that and I'll get her into one of the newer offices in the east wing, they're not being used yet. I'll explain when we're there". Intrigued but trusting the man who had saved the Tenth District Lavinia nodded, retreating behind her desk as Jace stooped and hefted his burden with a huff of effort, wondering how a woman so seemingly slight could wear armour so heavy and crossing his fingers his scheme would work.

XXX

Everything was blurry and her arms and legs felt like lead; what had she been drinking? Shaking her head to get rid of the grogginess Chandra tried to rub her eyes only to realise she couldn't and jolting as she realised why; her wrists were tied to the rests of the seat she was in. Kicking did nothing either, her ankles were likewise restrained against some kind of padded rest; fear and anger shot through her as she summoned fire to burn the bindings away, the flame flaring up but doing nothing as she cursed, realising she was being held by mana bonds. She'd need a boom spell to get rid of the sinuous pearly enchantments but, at a sudden cough, realised with a surge of aggression the man before her could easily stop one before she even realised it in her head,

"Beleren", she snarled, worry drowned by ire as she saw the insufferable blue mage leant against the corner of a desk, realising with a curse he'd beaten her again with his crony's' help, "I should have offed you on Zendikar".

"For what it's worth I'm grateful you didn't", he replied, making her growl even if a small part of her mind realised he at least wasn't gloating, "I am, however, concerned you're even here. I'd like to know why".

"I'd like you to be a smoking corpse – we don't always get what we want", Chandra riposted venomously, cursing as she realised there was little give in her restraints, though at least they weren't cutting off her circulation, "try your magic on me and I'll leave your mind a wasteland, this place too when I break out of here!"

"Even if I wanted to seize your mind, which I don't, I doubt I could hold it long enough to find answers", Jace pointed out, standing to his full height and looking down at her though he didn't come closer, "and I can't affect you with my mana as you are anyway. You're inside an Azorius containment enchantment, none of your fire will breach it and before you ask it is a sphere; you can't burn through the floor and escape that way. I wouldn't try anyway, the chair is supposedly fire-proof and if you were to melt or blast it, bits will stick to you painfully and even if they don't the sphere will contain the blast and you'll be right in the middle of it. Air and sound get through, no more; I can't affect you with my mana and you can't channel any of your own".

Knowing better than to trust him Chandra spat a small flare in his direction, watching it fizzle on an invisible barrier and recognising the loss from her inner heat being replaced agonisingly slowly; she couldn't tap into anything beyond the supposed sphere. If necessary she could fuel her fire from the air itself but that was a last resort in a confined space; loathe as she was to admit it he held all the cards at the moment but that could change – she'd have to be vigilant for her chance as she had before in these kind of predicaments,

"Well done, you caught me; know what happened to the last moron who did?"

"Something deadly, painful and-stroke-or embarrassing I'd imagine", Jace hazarded a guess, relieved to see his sometime-enemy not flare up; if anything Chandra looked perplexed as he spread his hands and explained, "look, hard as this might be to believe I don't want to hurt you, probe your mind or anything else – however those I work with require answers to a few questions; nothing personal", he raised a hand at her sudden defensive look, "just some basic information. Co-operate and we can chalk this up as a misunderstanding between us and you can walk out of here – I don't want to see you do time but if it comes to it you will be a guest of the Boros".

"Not for long; hey, what..." Chandra assured him before belatedly realising something; she couldn't crane forwards enough to check but from what she could feel, " ...where are my boots?"

"Behind you; Lavinia was worried you'd worm your feet out of them. That's her binding by the way; I was in a different office while she secured you".

"I'll bet, you never do your own dirty work", the red mage muttered, a little unfairly, "typical of my luck – why are you even here anyway?

"I work here", despite himself Jace couldn't deny a thin smile of amusement as her head snapped towards him,

"You what?" The pyromancer was regarding him with her eyes almost wider than her goggles, "As in, you have a job?"

"Yes, I can't live on fresh air and it pays reasonably well". Chandra was equal parts amazed and agape,

"So, uh", she wasn't sure what to say; she'd never considered a planeswalker could hold steady employment, "what do you do?"

"Help with the smooth running of Ravnica, file paperwork, listen to a couple of grievances and, when necessary, augment security", his smirk at the last item on his list made her scowl before she buried her ire under a black humour,

"Ha, shuffling paper out of sight, suits you down to the ground – if they could find a way to shut you up whoever's got you dancing like a monkey would have it perfect."

"I could have the Boros put you on privy-cleaning duties you know, in the goblin sector?" Jace cut back, the pyromancer glaring at him as he moved on to the main topic of this conversation, "Now, can I ask why you're here at all?" Chandra regarded him levelly, fingers drumming the rests of the chair as she weighed her options; he seemed sincere but to him lying was likely easy as breathing and even then his questions carried a lot more meaning that other peoples',

"When you say here", she said carefully, knowing he'd catch her double-meaning, "do you mean here or, here?"

"Both", he glanced away as though scratching an itch on his temple; Chandra was confused, then straightened in her seat in realisation as he mimed a mouth with his fingers then pointed at her. She thought for a second before, reluctantly, nodding, bracing herself as she felt a very gentle touch at the fringes of her consciousness and heard a slight whisper,

" _Don't speak_ ", she nodded again, listening to his mental voice, " _No-one knows and I've no inclination of telling them; none of them know about me either. Everyone here probably thinks you're an Izzet mage with a grudge against me; you'd not be the first. Be careful what you say and mention nothing outside of Ravnica, someone may overhear._ So," she jolted, not expecting to physically hear him speak, "why were you were trying to burn our livelihood down?"

"Our?"

"Mine and my co-workers, including Lavinia; the woman you were shouting at earlier?"

"Ah, never got her name", Chandra explained breezily before memories of the attack she'd fallen victim to made her ask, "she's a hieromancer isn't she?"

"Of sorts, the Azorius draw their power from laws of the Guildpact; however enough of your questions – my employers want to know why you're in this building and I personally want to know why you're in this district at all and if what happened last time we met had anything to do with it".

"You thought what, I came looking for you", she chuckled darkly, "don't flatter yourself".

"I don't; I've got more than enough enemies already, I'd rather not have you among their number", the mind-mage said darkly, memories of past betrayals staining both his memory and his visage. Seeing this actually gave Chandra a little more confidence; despite their rogues' alliance on Zendikar she'd never been sure where she'd stood with the aloof man and knowing he didn't want to cross her was a definite relief, though he didn't need to know that,

"You weren't even on my mind, ironically", she said after a short pause; telling him some of the truth couldn't hurt and might, if she were clever, give her a new route towards her objective, "I came here, the Tenth District this is, to speak with the Izzet here".

"The Izzet – your gauntlet? I thought it was one of theirs", he admitted before a sudden thought made him groan, "Please tell me you didn't steal it".

"No I didn't", Chandra snapped, irked as her honour was impugned, "I'm not a thief Beleren and don't say about that scroll; it was ours to start with".

"What? How?"

"It was from where I was staying originally", the pyromaster explained, not wanting to mention other planes given his secrecy, "the task mage who founded the school discovered it, can't remember where. It was in our keeping before being stolen decades before I started studying there; once I found out where it was I went to get back what was rightfully ours – it was, kind of paying my way for board and lodgings".

"I see", Jace said at length, seeing no lie in her scowling expression, "perhaps I did misjudge you Nalaar, though if that was the case why didn't you raise it with the proper authorities?" Chandra rolled her eyes,

"Yes, and while I was at it I could have worn a cloak with 'please capture me' stitched onto it". She had him there, much as he didn't want to admit it; sometimes his new responsibilities made him forget just how transient, and dangerous, life as a planeswalker could be – there were many in the Multiverse who'd commit murder or worse to have scraps of knowledge about the Spark that made 'walking possible,

"Very well, you had your reasons; what were your reasons for coming to the Guildmeet? The Izzet are based in a different section of the city, or several different sections depending on how big the last explosion was". Chandra snickered then forced herself to look steely again,

"There's a reason we get on so well; I got to know a couple of their guildmages when I dropped in a while back, helped prototype some of their equipment and for my singes they gave me my armour and this", she tapped her armoured fingers against the chair rest, "while I was there this time all the word on the street was about the new Guildpact. I wanted to see what all the fuss was about and came here, then bumped into that cow on the desk..."

"Do not", Jace cut her off sternly, "call Lavinia names; she's well-earned her rank and is a close colleague of mine".

"I'll bet", he didn't need his gifts to guess what was running through her mind, "shouldn't there be rules for office conduct Beleren; there are rules for every bloody thing else around here".

"There are and there is nothing between us".

"You're no fun", Chandra complained, his wintry tone stifling her joke at his expense, "so, uh, can I go now?"

"Not quite yet; Lavinia said you wanted to see the Guildpact, is this true?"

"Didn't I just say that?"

"No you said you got curious – were you kicking up a racket because she wouldn't grant you access?"

"That and she's so damn cold; it was all 'please take a seat' and 'you don't have an appointment' – honesty one more question for identification and I would have snapped".

"As opposed to snapping when you saw me", Jace put in, "why did you want to see the Guildpact though?"

"I, ah", she began before shrugging, "I'd heard about it last time I was here and now there was a new one everyone was talking about so why not get a look in?" Jace regarded her for a long moment and her spirits rose a touch,

"You are an exceptionally bad liar", just in time for him to crush them back down, "the truth please Nalaar?"

"That is the truth". She saw him mutter something unintelligible and braced herself, ready to fight tooth and nail against his invading mind but to her surprise her inquisitor breathed slowly, pacing towards her chair and coming to a halt in front of her but not looking threatening as he had during their duel. Something here didn't make sense,

"They won't accept that Chandra; I don't think you realise how serious this is", and even his tone wasn't right; when she'd had the unconscious mind-made at her mercy she'd felt little but triumph – seeing her humbled like this, he sounded almost regretful, "I know everyone jokes about how foolish it is that the Guilds are dictated to by a piece of paper but everyone in this building, me included, takes a threat to the Guildpact as a life-or-death event. People have done time for even testing security but I see no reason to add your name to that list; I don't want to use harsher methods but I will if I have to".

"Why aren't you using them already?" Curiosity had ever been her vice, though this time hindsight gave her a reason to be doubtful, "you did before." Jace looked away, expression falling like he'd bitten something sour,

"Because before I was stupid; now", he faced her again, a mask over his emotions as Chandra mimicked him; friends had set her on this path and she did not betray friends, "why did you want to see the Guildpact?"

"I was curious about it".

"The whole truth".

"Curiosity", she said stubbornly, "that's my truth, it's not my fault you're paranoid". Jace looked resigned and she braced herself; whatever happened next wasn't going to be as bad as the Enervents and she'd gotten her revenge against them just as she would against the blue mage as soon as she was out of this chair,

"You're determined to force my hand then? Fine you copper-topped mule, just remember I tried to help", she scowled at the insult, preparing to resist the coming assault as nerves writhed in her belly; she'd been interrogated, even tortured before but this was different. Before it was by strangers and they could only harm her flesh; Beleren had fought and beaten her once and despite the touch of the Purifying Fire she had horrors in her head she feared more than any hurt. However again he surprised her, stepping around rather than forwards as she tracked his progress, unsettled that he wasn't trying to invade her mind as he'd spoken into it earlier,

"Remember our first duel Chandra?" He spoke as he drifted towards her peripheral vision, "Overall I regret it; I could have handled that whole tasking a lot better. Still, given our current situation, there was one advantage to it happening", try as she might the chair was too heavy to slew around to follow him, though if he breached or stepped through the bubble separating them he'd get a hot reception. As his hand reached towards her trapped arm she tried, the stream of fire she breathed rebuffed by an almost invisible sheen as the enchantment folded inwards, protecting him. Cursing, she ceased the attack to conserve her mana as the material of the chair arm began to bubble and she smelt something foul, forced to watch as he pressed something on the side of the chair arm,

"Huh?" As the seat began to sink and dragged her with it confusion overwhelmed her earlier panic, "What are you doing – what kind of chair is this?"

"Lavinias; it lets her catch a few minutes of sleep if we have to stay late", Jace informed the pyromancer, holding the recline button down, "anyway, during our first fight I saw many things in your memory. For that I apologise, and I mean it", he said, his apparent sincerity defusing her accusatory look with surprise, "but I can't take it back and most of the time I forget such things anyway. However in your case I saw enough to know something about you Chandra Nalaar, something I'm sure you'd want to keep secret".

"Blackmail? Sounds like your normal game", she spat as he finally let whatever he was holding down go, trying to wrench her legging-clad ankles free of their mystical restraints; now the seat had fallen back she could feel her shins were now outside the enchantment but couldn't channel mana through them, the spell blocked it, "damn it what are you playing at; why don't you just rip it from my mind like you did last time?"

"Because I was younger and stupid, incredibly stupid last time", it was the self-recrimination in his voice that stopped her struggles, the fire mage gazing up as Jace took a deep breath, "but I learned better ways of getting what I need, something this job helped me with no end." Despite herself Chandra chuckled,

"I can just see the ad you signed up for; office worker wanted, must have no personality and fewer emotions. Experience in interrogation preferred, perversion an advantage". Jace snorted before pulling himself together and regarding her beadily,

"I resent that perversion remark".

"He said to the tied-down woman", Chandra snickered, waving her bound hands and making him snort again before looking at him plaintively, "look I'm telling the truth, mostly; can't you just make a good story up for whatever wind-bags hired you? Just tell them I wanted to melt your face off; one look at you should be enough to convince them."

"Sadly no", suddenly Jace wasn't quite as sorry as he had been about what was going to happen if she continued her mulish streak but he offered a last chance anyway, "please Nalaar, I don't want to have to put what I know to use".

"I'm not lying; I heard about the new Pact on the str..."

She never had the chance to finish as Jace ran a finger up her left sole.

It was the surprise more than the sensation that made her gasp; for a second she was confused before panic returned redoubled,

"No, you ca-ahh", another trail of lightning was left up her right foot, "stop that!"

"Ah, good, it never showed here specifically but I hoped it would work; still not talking?" The shake of her head was reflexive as she gripped the arm-rests so hard they creaked, mentally swearing that next time she was on Regatha she was going to strangle Brannon. The brat had only found out by accident, nudging her in the side during a break from practice; her hasty excuse that he had cold hands hadn't held water and he'd sprung, managing to get a few laughs out of her before she wrestled him to the floor and exacted retribution. It hadn't stayed a secret of course; few things did around the free-speaking students of the Keep; but it was seldom mentioned and never taken advantage of – her revenge tended to be both spectacular and embarrassing and for the man who must have seen that memory and now leant forwards with intent it was going to be both,

"Don't you...!" She was cut off, biting her lips shut as hell began on her right heel. She couldn't get away; even when she tried to cross her feet she was thwarted as Jace simply held her left out the way while commenting idly,

"I wonder; can your face can go redder than your hair?" She managed to glare for an instant before squeezing her eyes shut, the terrible sensations driving her to thrash like a gaffed fish as they ascended up her sole,

"You'll pop your lungs if you don't breathe soon, though having said that I remember you had a talent for deep breaths. You have to let it out eventually", he crooned, trying not to take too much pleasure in her suffering as the back of the pyromancer's head bounced off the cushioned headrest, Chandra's fixed grin threatening to split her cheeks as a few snickers forced their way through, then he hit the ball of her foot and all hope was lost,

"Pfffaahhhahahahaha", her laughter was loud, raucous and uncontrollable, "stop, stohohohohohohohohop!" Jace did, wishing he had a seat of his own as murder glittered in her topaz eyes,

"I'm going to kill you; there won't even be cinders left!"

"I'm sure", he said disinterestedly, further kindling her mottled face as her pressed on, "why were you after the Guildpact?"

"To shove it up your ar-aaaahhh!" He hit her left this time, shattering her resistance with surprise, "let gohohohohohohoho! Hate you, I hahahahahahahate you; eeehehehehehehe!"

"You break my heart", Jace replied, holding her right foot at bay and gripping her left ankle with one hand while continuing the assault with the other. Unable to escape or even relieve the torment Chandra was almost bucking off her seat, Jace left grateful Lavinia's chair had a low centre of gravity and no wheels; it wouldn't tip regardless how much the trapped pyromancer struggled,

"Speak and it stops".

The firebrand couldn't speak, couldn't do anything but shriek and swear through the torture she was being put through. Only her brother, years before her ignition, had made her suffer like this and not even he'd done it twice after she was through with him; she'd forgotten how much she'd hated it then and even worse now it shut down any casting she might have tried. All the combat spells she knew required her to focus on wrath, anger, fury or passion, impossible while she was being driven out of her mind laughing. Silently cursing herself and Jace both she was forced to endure until suddenly she was heaving down air, panting and shaking the lingering tingles away before glaring at her torturer,

"Hate you, so much".

"You're doing this to yourself, and would you rather this or cleaning the rot-farm drainage system?" Chandra thought for a second before smirking insouciantly,

"At least the Golgari would be better-looking." Irked by her cheek Jace poked both her soles warningly, eliciting a squeak before speaking again,

"Why you were after the Guildpact?"

"I'm not talking!"

"Don't be a fool – I know you're not stupid Chandra, stop acting like it! I can't stop for either of our sakes and if you don't tell me you'll get far worse from people whose job it is to extract confessions; I'm on your side you stubborn mare!"

"Yeah, feels like it", Chandra shot back, the fire back in her belly during this brief respite, "just tell them what I told you, it's the truth!"

"They won't, or I can't be sure they'll accept that", Jace tried to explain the situation both of them were now in, "they'll want to know specifics, reasons, even exact passages. If I give them less than that you'll take a public flogging for threatening the Guildpact and that's if you're extremely lucky. Just tell me what you were after; I'll explain there was a misunderstanding in Lavinia's office and bad-blood between us kicked off the fight. You won't be an enemy of Ravnica – just for once make things easy for yourself."

"And owe you one? I'd rather diaaiiieeeeee!"

"Fine", Jace roared over her howling as he resumed his interrogation, trying to keep his mind on his duty and a smile off his face; Chandra had always been fierce and tenacious in the past so seeing her in such a ridiculous state of hysterics was terribly amusing, "clichéd it might be but this really is for your own good!"

"Aaaahahahahahahaha, goohohohohohod? Lemme go, not fahahahahahahair!"

"Neither was throwing a ball of fire at me when I wasn't expecting it; I almost lost my eyebrows".

"No greheheheat lohohohohohosss, oh gods stop! Theheheheheis is torture!"

"No; if I were doing _this_ ", try as he might he couldn't resist; as his fingers scribbled quickly across her soles Chandra almost levitated, expression twisted into a frozen grin from which only a whining keen escaped before he stopped to let her breathe, "that would be torture; what I'm doing is, uh, hands-on persuasion".

The pyromasters' face was lost behind her hair, Chandras' flailing having sent it flying in an auburn whirl. Spitting it out and smoothing it down as best she could after recovering the fire mage met his smile with a triumphant grin of her own, bracing herself for his inevitable revenge; she might be suffering but she'd be damned if she let a chance like that slip by,

"Is that what you tell all the girlsseehehehehehehehehe, worth it! Eeeeheehe-aaahh," she convulsed forwards as Jace upped the ante, attacking with both hands simultaneously and doubling her torment, "toohohohohoho much, I can't take it!"

"You don't have to – tell me the truth!"

"Goho to heehehehehehehell! No", she squealed desperately as his fingers traced upwards, "not my tohohohohohoes; help, hehehehehehelp!"

"They can't hear you", Jace assured her viciously, giving up in the battle to remain aloof and smirking in triumph as he drew his hands back, relishing the terrified anticipation in her eyes, "the truth, or else." Swallowing hard, she managed to shake her head,

"Heee-no, never!"

"You asked for it!" Jace burrowed his fingertips in under her legging-clad toes and the firebrand was immediately reduced to an animalistic howl of mirth, arched almost into a bow in an attempt to escape her teasing torturer, "Oh that works – what about, here?"

"Eeeheeeee, stohohohop; I'm crying", she sniffed harshly, trying to force air down as her vision fractured, "let me breheheheheath!"

"Big toe's bad then, what about this one, or this?"

"Gaah yohohohohou're evil! Reheheheheheheally evil – heeeeek!" Chandra's shrieks grew worse as he methodically worked along her digits, and then there was an inhalation that almost made the walls bow in as he toyed with her littlest. She went rigid, pallor draining from her cherry-red face so fast Jace let go fearing she'd faint, her chest fluttering as she drew in air before groaning,

"Oowww, stitch", she croaked, tapping her left ribcage with her elbow as best she could, tears of delirium filming her eyes as she made a humble request, "give me a break, please".

"You can have all the time you need if you give me the truth".

"I can't, it", she caught herself just in time but Jaces' interest was piqued; left with nowhere to really go she lowered her head so he wouldn't see her lips move and whispered, "the Izzet, friends". Jace understood and in many ways respected her loyalty; because of that his answer was equally as soft,

"Keep your head down", Chandra glanced up before the seriousness in his face convinced her to obey, "nod or shake; you're not working for them are you?" He was more relieved than he let on when she shook her head; had she been an agent of any Guild little he could have done would have been able to save her from the gears of the state. That she was a free agent, and he believed her, gave him a little more leeway,

"I'll do all I can to keep them out of this", he said solemnly, Chandra's expression both confused and grateful as she looked up at him, more or less recovered, "what did they tell you?"

"Something I can't tell you; no, please", as he spread his fingers menacingly she sacrificed her pride on the altar of hope, "Jace I can't; they didn't know anything for sure; that's why I came here, to find out about it, honest".

"You came here to find something out, something about the Guildpact? What and why?"

"I told you I don't know for sure; it was a rumour at best and the second one, uhh", to his amazement she seemed genuinely embarrassed before eventually muttering, "I really was just curious." Despite himself Jace chuckled, regarding the other planeswalker with an air of humorous long-suffering,

"Only you hot-head", lingering ache dissipated and despite her predicament Chandra stuck her tongue out at him; she'd always hated that nickname, "curiosity kills cats you know?"

"Do I look like a mog-person to you?"

"No, you look like something else", Jace drawled, one of the office jokes popular a few months ago popping up in his mind, "laughing girl say what?"

"What-ahahahahaha, cheat!" Dimly Chandra realised she'd have to remember that one, the rest of her was too busy bucking against her restraints and fighting to keep other issues at bay, "Jace stohohohop, I-noooaaaahahahahahaha, not there! Please, plehehehehehehease", she was left unable to speak as the mind-mage, alerted following a fortuitous slip, attacked the sides and arches of both her feet in turn, reducing her to helpless hysterics until her frantic flailing finally managed to bat his fingers away enough to shriek a warning, "I gotta gohohoho!"

"Really? That's unfortunate", Jace's grin was almost as wide as his victims; he honestly couldn't remember the last time he'd had so much fun and the worm of guilt was assuaged with the knowledge she'd have faced far crueller censure if not for him, "Lavinia will be upset; she loves that chair".

"Stohohohohop, I'm begging yohohohohou!"

"You make me stop; you say when and tell me this rumour and this all, goes, away", he drew the words out with feather-light swipes to where her toes met her feet proper, the sensation making Chandra yelp before she gritted her teeth menacingly; she couldn't win but she'd be damned if she didn't go down without making him work,

"Never", she declared after snatching a breath, watering eyes flashing with defiance, "never, nevahahahaha, Jace dohohohohon't! Hehehehehe come on, no mohohohore; merceeehehehehe!"

"All out of that Chandra", he declared, determined to finish her resistance and get to the bottom of this mystery, "now you suffer until you speak!"

She did suffer, for how long she'd never know but it felt like forever; she couldn't even pretend to faint as she had before; Jace changed pace too well. One second she'd be on the outer edges of delirium, the next he'd slow down and let her come back to herself slightly – she wasn't sure if she'd die or go mad first. Her bladder was a big, aching ball just below her belly and every laugh sent ripples through it but she refused to go quietly, it went against everything she was to give in. Only when she could truly take no more did she at last capitulate tired, sore and with mirthful tears tracking the sides of her nose,

"Alright when, whehehehen", despite his mental oaths to be calm at his inevitable victory Jace couldn't quite suppress a hiss of triumph as at last his headstrong enemy yielded, though he immediately let go and stepped back as the exhausted woman slumped into a semi-swoon; he gave her several heartbeats to recover before stepping forwards,

"The truth then, quickly". She looked up at him and, dredging up her last reserves, cracked an exhausted smile to claim a petty victory,

"Sorry, changed my miiiiiehehehehehe!"

"Two breaths Chandra", he'd half-expected this and made plans to deal with it, "two breaths after you say when again. If you don't tell me after those two breaths I won't stop until you disgrace yourself, I don't care if I have to buy Lavinia a replacement chair."

"I'll talk, I'll tahahahahalk", she shrieked aloud, writhing and giggling for a little longer as, slightly wiser this time, Jace gave her right sole a last few warning prods before he settled back with a warning,

"That's one".

"Alright, listen", she panted, trying to think how best to word this without getting either herself or her friends in the Izzet in trouble, "they told me about, the new Pact and, how it got signed. They said it, had some, spell to..."

"...Serve the Izzet right?" Jace suddenly said loudly, though as she looked at him confused his severe expression cut through both her confusion and her mirth to chill her to silence, "I knew you were gullible Chandra but this... for the love of the gods the Dimir have a lot to answer for. It's one of Ravnicas' commonest jokes, or rumours, trust you to fall right for it – tell the Izzet this; there is no spell for any Guild contained within the Guildpact and we get at least three or four people from each Guild asking every week, much to the despair of the greeting staff at the front desk. You should have told me this earlier; it would have saved us both a lot of grief".

Even as he spoke he put a finger to his lips before standing and striding to the far end of the room, reaching out to two small items Chandra hadn't noticed during her captivity stuck to the wall. They appeared to be small spheres, though what they were she didn't know or much care; they were keeping the evil man away, that was good. She remained quiet, her lungs aching and feet still tingling as he came to stand back before her, the two spheres in his hands as he raised them to eye-level,

"Given the evidence and extenuating circumstances of bad blood between individuals I, Jace Beleren, being a public servant of good standing in Ravnica hold that the accused, Chandra Nalaar, has paid just penance for her crime of public disorder and affray within the Guildmeet by this interrogation, confession and subsequent imprisonment. This declaration is noted and witness via recording, cease recording; they're shut down now, luckily for you".

"What are those things?"

"Never mind them", Jace was looking both severe and worried as he asked his next question, "the spell the Izzet told you about; was it called the Supreme Verdict?"

"The what?" She didn't know the name, "I don't know, they didn't either; they just said it might be a big boom spell".

"And you went straight after it", his tone was somewhere between resigned and disappointed and hearing it hurt a little, much to her surprise, "well forget about it, and don't mention it to anyone on Ravnica or anywhere else".

"It does exist then?" Jace seemed conflicted for a moment before shaking his head,

"Not anymore; it was the fail-safe for if the Guilds didn't ratify the new Pact. It's not a power anyone should have least of all planeswalkers, me included", he added at her withering look, explaining as he went on, "it's too dangerous; it would have annihilated the Tenth District and everyone in it had it gone off."

"That's a big boom", Chandra said quietly, though her tone was one of calculation rather than want, "it's, or was that powerful?"

"Worse than you can imagine, now forget about it".

"Or what?" It wasn't the smartest question she could have asked given current circumstances but she asked anyway; if nothing else Jace had done little lasting to her when he could have had free reign, though his sudden smile was disconcerting to say the least,

"Or I will be forced to use the blackmail you were so afraid of; do you know what these are?" He held up the spheres and she shook her head, "They're an Izzet invention, used to capture events as they unfold; stops the Guildmeet needing eye-witnesses to every event we, they have to oversee. I always have two or three close at hand and, as you see", he pointed one at the back wall and suddenly it was illuminated, the blood draining from Chandra's face as she heard and saw part of her ordeal played out again, "they can re-show what they've seen. Now I should hand one to the Guildmeet", she could only shake her head, eyes wide with terror as she realised what he was saying, "but I think I'll hang onto it for now. The other; well let's just say if you cause any more trouble in my town I can think of a few people who'd be very interested in what's in this little bubble, Keral Keep for instance?"

"No", she blurted; if Mother Luti saw that her life wouldn't be worth living, "you can't!"

"I can for the next month or so", once more the show played and she cringed at the spectacle she'd made of herself under the mind-mages' torture before she heard him speak again, "see that little number in the bottom left corner? That's how many days the image will stay in the box; so, stay out of mischief for thirty days and nothing more will be said of this whole affair – reasonable?"

"I'm going to kill you", she swore, looking him full in the face as she made that dire promise, "slowly, violently and with as much blood as possible I'm going to murder you and dance on your grave!"

"Very well then, to Regatha I go..."

"No, alright", she relented as he began to breathe in a pattern she recognised, preparing to 'walk away, "you're safe until next month but I'll never forgive you for this Jace Beleren; I will get even and you'll wish you'd never been born when I do!"

"Promises, promises", he declared nettlingly, Chandra growling with sheer frustration as he moved to open the office window, "I'll leave that open; you can get out when the bonds snap".

"Snap; wait", a sudden fear shot through her as she pressed her legs together, "you can't leave me here; I've got to, you know!"

"Well I did say subsequent imprisonment; they should wear off in an hour or so", her eyes widened, the ache doubling again at the thought, "the privy's third on the left down the hallway, and Chandra", his tone was evil personified as he slipped the recording spheres under his robe, "I meant what I said about causing trouble. This is between us for now but just one mysterious fire I can link to you and I'll make sure these get a decent audience". He turned so she wouldn't see his long-denied smile, oblivious to her shouts as he moved towards the exit,

"Jace, Jace damn it", she wriggled in her bonds, trying desperately to see if they were loosening at all, "bastard whore's son, I'll crisp you! I'll burn you to ash and piss-ohh", the word made her gut cramp as the door swung shut behind him, ignoring her last dire threat,

"There'll be a reckoning you goblin-fondler!"

A short time later, thankfully a lot less than an hour, in quick succession a few wisps of mana dissipated, a red-haired woman set a speed record for sprinting from the knees down and a sigh of pure relief filtered through a privy wall in the Guildmeet building of Ravnica. Finally rid of that burden Chandra considered everything that had happened as she snapped her boots back on; Jace had to die, that was a given, but he had looked both sincere and afraid concerning that Supreme Verdict thing – perhaps it'd be best to, if not forget, at least tell the Izzet it was a myth, or that she hadn't found anything out? She thought about breaking the chair she'd been confined in but the sword now over her neck prevented the petulant revenge; as she eased herself out the opened window and dropped to the ground outside she began to think of a way to dodge that axe.

Jace had said a month, she could lay low that long and find out if what he said about the recording was true. The Izzet were never short of projects to tide her over for coin and she knew where he worked now; she would have to concoct a particularly gruesome revenge for the torment she'd just gone through. Yes, this would take time and she had plenty of that; when she was through with him the mind-mage of Ravnica would be either dead or wishing he was and his fate would be a warning to the whole Multiverse of what awaited those who'd tickle a pyromancer!

However, even consumed by indignation as she was, she couldn't quite crush the merest hint of a smile hovering on the corner of her lip as she joined the main street of Ravnica and was lost in the crowd in an instant.

XXX

A/N: Like I said, seriously irreverent (for now); this fic assumes DotP 2014 happens at about the same time as Return to Ravnica, hence the two planeswalkers meeting again here six months after both. Regarding this fic I've got a few options so if you want to review, tell me what you'd like to see:

1 – Keep it as a one-shot.

2 – Another chapter detailing Chandra's revenge!

3 – A full story, albeit with slow updates given my other commitments.

Let me know and I'll see when I can continue this one – until then thanks to those who've offered support for my novel (no news yet though, sad panda face!) and keep duelling.


	2. Chapter 2 - Drop a Bomb

Chapter 2 – Drop a Bomb

A/N: Revision is painful, writing irreverent things makes the pain go away; hard hats on, the firebrands' on the warpath!

Enjoy!

XXX

The first thing the humiliated fire caster did was retrace her steps to the Izzet guild, waved through the ornate, steam-operated gates by the bored-looking guildmage on duty and swiftly tracking down the friend who'd unwittingly delivered her to torture and a month-long purgatory with naught but a liars' word it'd end after that long. The guildmage, newly risen to deputy head of one of the lower research teams, was disappointed there was nothing to be found on the supposed explosive spell but, overall, wasn't surprised,

"It was probably the Dimir rumour-mongering anyway", she told the pyromancer, fortunately oblivious to Chandra's ire as she stewed on earlier events, "still, you got a few hours? We could use some more heat to test this new oil formulation; if it works we can start using it as a holding agent sooner rather than later."

"Sure", the planeswalker said distractedly, recalling the discussion she'd had with the other woman before those events that would never be spoken of again but her mind wasn't really on the work. Even the lure of flame wasn't the release it usually was no matter how clearly she pictured a certain mind-mage going up in smoke – she acted as a stand-in furnace until nightfall and collected the set rate given to Gateless who aided the research teams rather than haggling for better pay as she normally would. All she wanted to do, and indeed all she did, was return to her temporary digs, a small family-run open home within easy walking distance of the main Izzet guildhall, hence the cheap rent, pay off the matriarch of the household, drag the shared tin bath into her pokey room and take a few trips out to the shared external standpipe. When the vessel was filled she opened the window, closed the curtains and let her fire flow before, finally, sinking into the embrace of the now nearly scalding water and beginning to think.

Actually thinking came later; first she imagined Jace meeting his well-deserved end in a myriad of painful, humiliating ways as she raged against the unfairness of it all. After glaring at her feet as though they'd personally betrayed her Chandra tucked her legs in and rested her chin on her knees moodily, the mental pictures of the mind-mages' agonising demise fading as, much as she didn't want to, she was forced to face reality. Regardless of the bad-blood, as he'd put it, between them, flaring up as she had was a stupid move that should have landed her in deeper trouble than she'd gotten away with and, curse him as she might, Jace had had a big hand in that let-off.

To her mingled surprise and dismay, now she was calm enough to logically think things through, her anger was guttering out somewhat. Though not native to Ravnica she knew enough about its Guilds to know the punishments meted out to those who threatened the precarious balance of power between them were severe even if her only crime, as she saw it, was queue-jumping. She'd known the game was up when that Azorius witch had called her to heel and would have left after a bracing quarrel but for the appearance of her old foe and that, she decided as she dipped her hair into the steaming water and began to scrub it out, had been the greatest surprise of the day. She had guessed he was native or close to Ravnica from his clothing in the past but the thought of just randomly bumping into him simply hadn't occurred to her or, given the glimpse of his face she'd caught just before she caught light, him either.

Chandra could count the number of 'walkers she knew on one hand and have fingers left over; the Multiverse was a big enough place that their paths rarely crossed though, she cautioned herself, some planes were better-occupied than others. Due to its bustling population and strange mana Ravnica was relatively easy to find through the maze of the Eternities so likely had more than its share of Spark bearers – it was just her luck that Jace Beleren happened to have a job here. She still found that hard to believe but, as she thought the matter over, found herself smirking; she actually could see the memory adept quite happy behind a desk despite the whole Multiverse out there to be explored. More than that though what she'd seen of him today, through tears of laughter or otherwise she reminded herself with a scowl, jarred with everything she'd seen before.

The mind-mage she remembered was precocious and knew it; during their duel he'd been sarcastic and vindictive with his humour and even against the dragon on Zendikar his help had come with a lash to her pride. Back there though, Chandra couldn't quite put her finger on it but something seemed different about him; yes he'd joked at her expense but apart from that everything he'd said had seemed sincere, irritating though it was for the firebrand to admit it. As far as she could work out Jace really had tried, as much as he could, to help; his offer to try and see the Izzet spared had certainly been genuine. He could, she knew from bitter experience, have stripped what he wanted from her mind and thrown her to the Boros afterwards but hadn't done so, possibly at risk to his own prospects she suddenly realised, sitting up straight with her back against the warm metal of the tub. Thinking back, she tried to picture the room and... yes, those viewing spheres he was now dangling over her head, they'd have only shown his back, she was sure of it.

They wouldn't have been able to see him speak about her honorary Guild and, given the tinny sound of her played-back laughter, she doubted they'd hear the whispers they'd shared either. He hadn't voiced his suspicions about that Verdict either, another point she had to begrudgingly notch up in his favour. He hadn't even told anyone she was a planeswalker, albeit probably because he guessed she'd have repaid the favour at the earliest opportunity and been right, but keeping that conversation absolutely private had safeguarded her more than him – he, after all, was an employee, she a supposed criminal. And the final indignity of all this was being forced to concede using _that_ weakness against her had been about the least worst thing he could have done, even if thinking about it made her shiver, scowl and, though she'd never admit it, smile a little simultaneously. As the water around her grew as tepid as her temper Chandra considered this new enigma, contrasting the mind-mage of Zendikar then to the one of Ravnica now.

It was almost like he was older, more careworn than he'd been just shy of a year ago; she had no idea how old he was and time was a sketchy affair for planeswalkers but there was no denying he was slightly different, though by that line of thinking so was she – memories of the insane beast-mage Ramaz and his Scroll lingered long. The unease about that whole episode had made her restless at Keral Keep and driven her to seek out the Izzet again, looking to upgrade her arms and armour as her mastery over the power of fire slowed – there simply wasn't much more for her to learn on Regatha. The idea of another powerful spell existing, as she'd ground out of one of her Guild contacts, had been worth a little snooping; that it might have gotten her closer to the people who both knew the majority of Ravnicas' fire lore and had designed her gauntlet was a major bonus on top of that.

But it hadn't paid off and, thanks to Jace, she was under a threatening cloud for the next month and it was that more than anything that made the firebrands' hackles rise; a collar of humiliation was a chafing bind for someone who valued her freedom. So her first task was obvious; she had to find out if he was telling the truth about those spheres, then from there she had to keep her head down and prepare... a knock at the door broke her chain of thought,

"I'm in the bath."

"Just me dear", the matronly voice made Chandra smile; Dorlunn reminded her a lot of Mother Luti, "we're setting the table; are you coming down?"

"As long as you did the cooking", she chuckled, gripping the sides of the tub, "I'll be there in a minute".

She was as good as her word, boiling away the rest of the water as she dressed and knocking the residue out of her window before hanging the dry bath in its usual place in the hallway. The evening meal was a noisy affair, Dorlunn doing her best to teach her children manners while Chandra did her best to subtly help them rebel though once caught, as she inevitably was, she surrendered to her sentence of the washing up a lot more gracefully than she had her sentence earlier. Watching Dorun, the eldest of the siblings, help his mother herd the other two to bed the firebrand felt a slight whelm of pity for the family; she'd seen from the pictures in the main room Dorlunn's husband had worn Izzet robes and from that could guess why she was a widow now. She wouldn't ask and had resolved to leave a little extra money after her stay though, thanks to a certain planeswalking Ravnican, this family was likely to have her custom for a lot longer than she'd envisaged. Growling as she yanked the plug from the sink Chandra decided to turn in early; she didn't like going to bed while the sun was up but there was nowhere else she could plot revenge.

It was during this plotting and with moonlight streaming through the thin curtains that she sat upright, a sudden realisation crashing down on her so hard she shoved her blanket into her mouth to first suppress a yell then, as she thought about the situation more, a laugh. So Jace was confident he had her over a barrel was he – well two could play at that game and this time, given his reliance on his supposed-ace, she could stack the deck in her favour!

XXX

The first warning the primary target of her more buoyant mood got was a pair of hands clapped over her eyes,

"Guess who?"

"Ahhh!"

"Nope, guess again".

"You mare", the Izzet mage declared, heaving down the air she'd just screamed out, though thankfully the hissing of the nearby boilerworks had drowned most of it, "let go you crazy woman!"

"Says you Buuthe", Chandra riposted, letting her victim go and grinning through the disgusted scowl thrown her way, "have they scrubbed off those scorch-marks yet?"

"Years ago and you know it; what were you thinking Chan? I could have been carrying something dangerous..." Her recriminations were cut off as the Gateless convulsed, laughing helplessly as her friend was forced to watch on with a face like thunder,

"After what happened last time you held something dangerous I'm amazed they let you carry water 'Boomer'".

"It wasn't my fault, it was a crack in the sealing vessel and I saw it a second too late..."

"I know, I know", the firebrand had heard this story several times since her return to Ravnica, catching up with the black-haired woman who had been a mere novice in the Guild when she'd left the first time. Chandra didn't know exactly why the two of them got on; a studious and serious sort, Buuthe had always concentrated on the much less glamorous side of the Izzet, helping construct new materials and compounds to keep Ravnica working. It was hard work that received little praise over the flashier spells and concoctions that gave the Izzet an edge over their rivals and, occasionally, had the Guildhall dispersing itself over a wide area when they went wrong, but get on they did and she was glad to see her friends' career progressing as she held her arms out,

"So, uh, give us a job?"

"I should have you hauling coal all day, but", she relented at the redheads' dejected expression, "your fire's too valuable to waste down there and the results for our new Niv-dust have come back from the Simic".

"Already? That was quick".

"I know but don't look a gift toad-horse in the mouth; it came in fine, nothing they tested it on died and only three out of three dozen samples showed any illness and that was after truly massive exposure, thousands of times more than anyone's likely to touch".

"Wow, sounds, uh, impressive?"

"Doesn't it just?" Fortunately the guildmage was too far gone in her celebration to notice her friends' bamboozled expression, "I knew a pinch of powdered electrum wouldn't hurt and it gives it some real staying power. Now we just need to test the media it's to be applied with and its resistance to impact, heat, lightning, acid, scratching, urine, explosives, mana and ferrous-consuming oozes and we're set to put it on the market, this time with my name on the tin. So, pick up that bag over there, carefully", her sudden shout stilled the firebrands' grab; Chandra knew the Izzet rarely raised her voice so even she listened when she did, "get any on you it'll take weeks to come off, and follow me. We've got some aqueous chemistry to do".

"Aww but that's water", the pyromaster whined, gingerly picking up the small pouch Buuthe had indicated on her bench, "can't I just burn something?"

"You're burning through my patience; come on, we get this done right we can move onto secondary testing by the end of the week".

"Alright, alright; slave-driver..."

"What was that?"

"Nothing, though while you're here Boomer I saw something odd yesterday that your Guilds' supposed to have come up with. What do you know about, oh what were they called, recording spheres...?"

The end of the day brought news both good and ill; yes her new opponent still had his ace but at the same time she had a plan to trump it should the need arise. She hadn't been able to see anyone higher up in the Izzet regarding her equipment yet and Buuthe, though a good friend, wasn't the best avenue for that; the short, squat woman had never been a fighter and was too low-ranked to work on such gear anyway. It was down to nothing more than pure luck she'd been given it in the first place; following the explosion that had earned Boomer her unfortunate nickname Chandra, following the noise, had arrived at the partially-destroyed Guildhall in time to drag several people to safety. One of those had been an Izzet master-mage who, upon recovering and meeting the woman who'd saved him, had made the young Gateless an honorary Guild member and supplied her with the amour she'd worn to this day after she'd spent some time helping with his projects, the then-novice pyromancer eagerly devouring every scrap of lore he could teach her.

Still that was for the future; for the present a few ideas were percolating her nefarious imagination, ideas she could hone while, for the moment, she bent her back for the Izzet. Days passed and she earned her way, paying for her board and lodgings and taking coin and, she was grateful to find, a few cantrips Buuthe had picked up over her years of study in the Guild. Though little use in a duel Chandra was careful to repay her friend in kind for each one; there were seldom times when being able to see a flaw in a surface or seek out a particular metal in a mixture was a bad thing. As time rolled on and days became weeks Chandra found herself quite surprised – perhaps a planeswalker with steady employment wasn't as rare as she'd thought, though she guessed there were few places in the Multiverse where her brand of pyromania would be considered an advantage in the workplace. She stayed to help her friend and her team, pay her way and plot against another denizen of the metropolitan plane, said plot receiving an unexpected boost when said friend all but leapt into her arms with an excited squeal a few days later,

"Whoa", Chandra exclaimed, trying to decipher Buuthes' gabbled speech, seeing the rest of her research team nearby also sending up celebratory sparks and the odd ball of flame, "no bouncing around here unless I'm doing it; what's got you so excited?"

"They ratified it Chan, they got it put forwards and he said yes", the guildmage was almost vibrating with glee, "he's going to oversee it himself, it'll be next week, he might even know my name!" Doing her best not to chuckle at her friends' rapt expression the firebrand probed for some more information,

"Dare I ask who?"

"Master Zarek of course; you know, our representative? Seriously Chandra where have you been", given the answer to that could have filled a small library the firebrand wisely remained quiet as the deputy team leader explained, "Master Zarek was our Maze Runner after the weird supposed to run it went haywire and he had to put it down, he holds our seat at the Guildmeet now. He's a genius, Niv-Mizzets' right claw and he's going to ratify my invention..."

"And I'm sure you'd like him to ratify something else", the firebrand cut in teasingly, Buuthe stopping dead and blushing crimson as her friend laughed, "is he single then, and what is ratifying anyway, sounds nasty."

"New method of getting anything done these days; pain in the wheres'it really, slows everything down – the Simic get stuck with it as well", Buuthe explained, reminding herself Chandra had been in another district for quite some time and remote from the epicentre of the changes in the Tenth, "everything new we come up with has to be overseen by some git from the Guildmeet; a Gateless too, can't hold any bias that way. Master Zarek will explain all the technical details, he's just there to check it does what we say it does; it's not a terrible system really, it stops the dangerous stuff going out without proper testing, but I've seen lazy slug-crabs move faster. Chan, you still with me?"

"Huh, oh yeah, sorry, lost in thought", a delicious, devilish thought, "so, uh, next week you say?"

"Yes, no time to waste; we better have the test area looking spotless; I don't want Master Zarek arriving and this place looking like a mortars' hit it".

"Right, right – so what have we got to work with and can we, or you I guess, request anyone specific from the Guildmeet to do this whole overseeing thing? You'll need someone who knows something of alchemy even if he is a Gateless – every spark lights a fire and all that."

"Hey, good idea..."

XXX

"...Repeat after me; Tandris, equals, hot, elf, chick. I mean it Bell-boy, unless he's going for a rebound or pity-sex a man like you should not be making friends with hot elf chicks, and you of all people shouldn't need either. Seriously, in your shoes I'd be getting more than a toilet seat after an all you can eat Golgari rot-feast..."

Lavinia heard them coming half the building away; by the time the two figures entered her office she'd deduced her Izzet counterpart had reasons to be cheerful and, going by the thunderous look on the Guildpacts' face, it was probably at Jaces' expense,

"Dare I ask?"

"Ah don't mind him Sticky", to her credit only a slight narrowing of her eyes told of her extreme hatred of the Izzet mages' chosen nickname; she was not a stick-in-the-mud damn it, "he's just going through a purple patch".

"Don't you have something to electrocute", Jace snapped, unusually bad-tempered in the arrestors' opinion until she noticed his cloak was swaying slightly in a non-existent breeze – why was he under an illusion, "I want that report on my desk first thing tomorrow, I'll stamp it off then. The sooner we get that sort of paint out there the better".

"Yeah, less chance of you being left red-faced", Ral needled insufferably, baiting the ultimate authority on his plane and wondering if he could finally get the mind-mage to snap; he'd certainly been softened up enough given the debacle earlier, "ah well, you know what they say about those born to the purple..." Lavinia saw her friends' fists clench and prepared to intervene if necessary; the Guildpact murdering one of the Guildmeet would set a very bad legal precedent,

"If you don't get out of here quick the only purple thing in this office will be your face after my hands are wrapped around your neck", Jace snarled, infuriated both by his humiliation and that he'd been outmanoeuvred, him of all people. Fortunately for his temper and peptic health the Izzet simply raised his hands and retreated, tipping a wink to Lavinia as he made his departure though Jace knew that smirk wasn't going to be wiped away for a month. He wanted nothing more than to barricade himself in his office and stick pins into a doll of someone he didn't like but, given the questioning look on his assistants' face, realised it wasn't going to be that simple,

"If you laugh I'm going home and not you, hell, high water or the Supreme Verdict going off are going to stop me", Lavinia took a heartbeat to prepare herself and nodded, watching as the mind-mages' form rippled as he banished the illusion he'd been under since stepping out of the Izzet Guildhall.

She didn't laugh but gods it was close; words failed, everything failed save the most basic questions drilled into her since the day she'd sworn her first oaths to uphold Ravnicas' laws,

"What happened?"

"I think", the stained apparition said begrudgingly, knowing that out of all of Ravnica at least the arrestor knew something about the events that had led to him standing here mortified, "it's best you see for yourself. If I tried to explain it I'd likely end up swearing too much to be coherent – with your permission?" Lavinia merely nodded, too agape at the Guildpacts' appearance to take much notice as he skilfully wended his memory into hers and let her retrace his steps...

XXX

 _...over the floor, marking off the sheet in his hand with a quill as he regarded the Guildmeet member from the corner of his eye,_

 _"This Buuthe, says she's the deputy team leader?"_

 _"Yeah, her superiors' not been himself since he threw acid into his collection vat without scrubbing it out first; hell of a plume but we managed to get everyone but him out in time", Zarek explained idly, his backpack whirring as he kept pace with the Guildpact towards the boilerworks the research team had claimed as its own, a little knot of figures in the distance awaiting them, "keeps going on about 'things beyond space and time' and 'the gate and the key'. Completely bonkers of course but I've got a few goblins transcribing his ravings"._

 _"Should I even ask why?"_

 _"Someone'll buy it", Jace did his best to keep a straight face; despite their very rocky introduction, following the end of the Maze and his realisation of how close he'd come to damning the whole plane Ral had become one of the Guildpacts' staunchest allies despite being an irreverent nuisance even at the best of times, "hell the Rakdos might consider it a holy text if I can convince them sho-goths are real"._

 _"If the gods do exist you're in trouble come judgement day Ral; can't think of a single heaven that wouldn't slam its doors in your face"._

 _"Nah, got that in hand", the Izzet mages' smile was the downfall of saints, "she might act high and mighty but treat her right and I reckon Aurilea's a pussycat. A little of this, a little of that and I'm sure she could pull some strings for her little lightning-bug..."_

 _"Smite him now", Jace quietly implored the silent ceiling and the small platform suspended from the pipes below it, the two mages chuckling quietly before he steered the conversation back on topic, "so if master mage, ah, Salarus is out of commission why is Buuthe still a deputy? Shouldn't you have made her team leader?"_

 _"I'll get around to it", Ral assured him uncomfortably as Jace ironed his expression straight; an eccentric genius he might be but paperwork and administration were not Ral Zareks' strong points, "anyway, back to important matters – have you got anywhere with Tandris yet?"_

 _"No and I have no intentions of going anywhere either, hard as that might be to believe", he put in as the other mans' face dropped in disbelief, "we've known each other for years, a long time before the Maze – it'd be like seeing my cousin"._

 _"Yes", Ral nodded, grin blossoming again, "your slender, sexy cous..."_

 _"'ware below!"_

 _In a Guild where everything that could blow up (and several things that couldn't) usually did Jace committed the cardinal sin; he looked before diving for cover. He had enough time to see something ballooning in his vision and enough presence of mind to throw his arms up before there was a soft whumping noise and Ravnica turned red. All about him was a swirling crimson cloud; he pressed his sleeve over his mouth an instant too late, coughing as the dust or whatever this was made his eyes water,_

 _"Jace", he could feel a slight wind off to his left blowing the plume away, "Jace tell me you're alive. Yep, that'll do", Ral must have heard him spluttering as the airborne redness was settling around him, "you feeling okay, not seeing any purple-people eaters...?"_

 _He saw Ral tailed off and blink but before he could ask the other man lost it completely, Jace left flabbergasted as he collapsed in hysterics, hardly hearing someone else rushing towards them over his guffaws. Glancing at the approaching figure and seeing the horror-struck expression on the black-haired womans' face he suddenly realised where she was looking and his eyes followed her own. The sight didn't compute, his jaw working soundlessly as he took in the terrible spectacle before a muffled squeak made him look up,_

 _"I am so, so sorry", the Izzet mage managed, Ral mercifully having run out of air to laugh with, "we, it... sorry"._

 _"It's all right", Jace replied, his new-found skills at mediation coming to the fore as he looked down at his ruined notepad, now as red as everything else he wore; he was dreading looking in a mirror, "at least this proves it's not dangerous to humans". The woman, Buuthe he assumed, nodded meekly before straightening, a sudden fire in her eyes as she bellowed towards the ceiling,_

 _"Get down here right now! I, my whole team can only apologise; we're painting the overhead steam pipes as a warning and to show the paint sticks even on a hot surface. Are you all right Master...?"_

 _"Beleren, but please call me Jace; so, leaving Master Zarek here given he's likely not going to recover any time soon", indeed the Izzet Maze Runner was on his knees and punching the floor, face as red as Jace could only image his was, "let's see this, ah, remarkable dust of yours"._

 _As a novice alchemist Jace understood the gist of this new material and, given he was covered in it, had to agree with the results of both the Izzet and Simic tests results. The new pigment could be mixed with water or oil depending on the application needed and produced a garish paint that was resistant to most things Ravnica could throw at it. Jace took this all in and was totting up what he should classify the product as when Buuthe suddenly stopped in mid-sentence and glared behind him,_

 _"So much for being careful; look what you've done! Apologise to Master Beleren right now Chandra, and if he pulls the plug because of you so help me you'll be shovelling coal until you're old as Niv-Mizzet!"_

 _And now it made horrible, horrible sense; Jace didn't want to turn around, he could all but taste the smugness behind him, but he had no choice. Putting himself in a mental happy place and counting backwards from a million in threes to keep his temper at boiling point the memory adept slowly stumped about and came face to crown with a very familiar and now much loathed figure. The pyromaster was hunched over, hands on her knees; most would have assumed her shaking shoulders were holding back sobs rather than the hilarity Jace could see,_

 _"I'm so, so sorry", her voice quavered, on the verge of breaking into giggles rather than grief, "Master Beleren"._

 _"Quite all right", he growled without moving his lips, "go and, sort yourself out; I'll talk to you later about this, accident"._

 _He caught a glimpse, just one, of her exultant smirk as she quickly stood and rushed away, her progress stuttering as she had to hold in the forthcoming explosion. His eyes flayed her back until she was lost to sight, Jace silently swearing a messy revenge against the other planeswalker as soon as this inspection was over..._

XXX

...and her hand was in her mouth, strangled snorts escaping the temporary dam as she looked the now-crimson mage up and down,

"Well", she managed to quickly swallow down most of her mirth enough to make a comment, "from that height it was a good shot."

"You're supposed to be on my side", Jace muttered, feeling betrayed, "Ral is never going to let me live this down; look at me!"

Lavinia obeyed, deducing the powder-bomb had likely impacted just to his right and slightly ahead of him given the worst of the vermillion staining. His clothes were a complete write-off, the pastel blue robe and tunic stained irrevocably crimson by the powder and she dreaded to think how long it would take for his now revoltingly-red skin and, worse, hair to return to their normal shades, especially as the dye was supposed to be water-fast. Still Jace was her overall authority and more than that he was her friend so, choking down her immediate reaction, she nodded and looked severe,

"Shall I distribute the recording as we discussed?" As she'd more than half-expected the mind-mage shook his head,

"No, much as I wish you could", he grimaced, his savaged honour crying as he recalling the reasons why he couldn't as well as Chandras' victorious smirk, then crying again as Lavinia twisted the knife,

"Why?"

"You know why", he accused, the Azorius not able to keep a smirk off her lips as she recalled the picture show the sphere had projected onto her office wall after everyone else had gone home a few weeks ago. Jace had to have any punishment he as the Guildpact administered ratified by a member of her Guild and, after a promise of silence, she'd done her duty, reviewing the recording he'd taken. Despite their fraught introduction and the fire damage to the arm of her chair she agreed the unusual chastisement had fitted the Izzet mages' crime, though her enquiries as to how Jace knew the quarrelsome woman were drawing blanks. All he would say was that her flames had saved him from a dangerous beast in the past and they'd parted on unfriendly terms; the rest, given what she knew of his life before the Maze, she could guess.

"There are consequences for taking the law into your own hands, even for you. There's a reason the Azorius have our reputation; sitting on the rulebook covers your backside".

"And don't I know it now?" Jace spat, both disgusted with himself for not foreseeing something like this and, in a way, strangely grateful to Chandra for pointing it out to him – he'd rather ruined clothes than a ruined city any day, hard as that was to remember at the minute, "if she goes down she'll drag me with her, she told me".

"You spoke at the Guildhall?"

"Had to get an official explanation for the accident didn't I?" Jace grimaced, Lavinia forced to look away as she imagined how that conversation had gone, "After she stopped laughing, which took bloody longer than it did for Ral to shut up, you know what she said when I told her about the recordings? Do it", he massaged his forehead, not caring that he was massaging the auburn pigment in deeper and proving, as Chandra had breathlessly declared in a secluded section of the Guildhall, that his face could go redder than her hair, "if I don't play by the rules why should she, that was her reasoning. 'He said he'd send me to prison if I didn't do what he said, then he tortured me' – how the hell can that cow act so damned innocent, I was helping her out for the gods sake!"

"I'm sure, very deep down, she's grateful", Lavinia remarked dryly, "so, what have we learned today?"

"When the Izzet call send an underling?"

"I was thinking more you step outside the rules at your peril; I know it was for, in your eyes, a good cause but Chandra does have the law on her side if you let those recordings free. And, be honest", she looked at him directly, "would you?"

"I know, I know; you're right, and probably not unless she did something truly spectacular", Jace admitted, shuddering at the thought of what 'spectacular' might mean for the pyromaster before something behind his assistant caught his eye, "is he still scrounging around here? I thought you threw him out."

"That was hardly fair", the arrestor chipped in, opening her window and stroking the lean body that slinked inside with a purr, "it was his home before we moved in. I've had him wormed and checked by the Simic, he keeps morale up around the office".

"I'm sure", the Guildpact muttered acidly, regarding the alley cats' mangled ear with some distaste as it leapt to the floor and sauntered out Lavinia's office; much like the woman whose smug grin was mnemonically rasping his pride away, he'd never had much time for cats, "you feed him and keep him out of my office. Speaking of which is there anything pressing I need to deal with now; I want to go home and forget today ever happened".

"Not literally I hope – I was joking", contrary to a lot of popular opinion Lavinia did have a sense of humour, she just guarded it well, "there was a report from the Simic, that division you were looking at setting up?"

"Which one – oh, no, I remember now; they've got a report?"

"Yes, though it's much delayed, the Orzhov wanted to keep it in the church", the Guildpact resisted the urge to sigh, realising yet another delay in some of the reforms he was trying to push through the archaic system governing Ravnica, "they got the bodies too late to tell anything really but the reports' on your desk along with a few other things".

"Good, I'll get them sorted now".

"At least you won't need a quill, just don't sit down unless you want a red seat".

"I'm feeling exceptionally picked on" Jace complained before sizing her up with a penetrating eye, "are you in league with the one who did this to me; I could have you brought to book for threatening the Pact if so." Lavinia snorted,

"If I were in league, as you put it, with your vengeful friend-stroke-something else..."

"There was never anything else", Jace quickly squelched that rumour, shivering, "and whatever you do don't ask Nalaar; if she heard you calling us friends you'd be lucky if what she left of you filled an ashtray".

"...be that as it may", enquiries rebuffed for now Lavinia carried on, bracing herself to avoid cracking up again at his likely reaction, "if we were working together I'd have had her wait a few more weeks, I'd have won the sweepstake that way".

"You'd have", a horrible thought swept over the Living Guildpact as Lavinia looked away, "what sweepstake?"

"Just a little bet between the Guildmeet", she explained, trying not to smirk under his flabbergasted expression, "we took a bet on how long it'd be before something happened to you during your Izzet walkarounds. As this happened on the fourteenth visit Ruric is about to get a little richer, though at least he won't boast about it. Oh come on, we have to do something to amuse ourselves between Meets".

"I...", for the third time that day words failed the memory adept, "...when you've got friends and neighbours you're the richest man in the District – if I ever find out who wrote that I'll, I'll think of something legally unpleasant. Tell Ruric to enjoy his winnings", Lavinia nodded, barely able to look at the literally red-faced mage as he stomped towards his office, "I'm looking at these reports and going home".

The Azorius nodded, counted ten after the door leading to the back of the Guildmeet building slammed shut and then calmly stood, walked briskly into the nearest dummy office, locked the door, pulled her mailed collar up over her mouth and burst out laughing.

XXX

The hot water had long since run out and there was still crimson going down the plug-hole; if caught a cold from this the pyromancer was going to pay!

Standing under his shower and running his hands through his hair to try and get rid of the worst of it Jace sighed, scowled and then despite himself chuckled a little – truth be told it had been a clever trick and had she really wanted to hurt him Chandra could have dropped something a lot more dangerous than dye. Still the memories of both her and Ral, who he still had to check wasn't involved in any way he reminded himself, all but rolling on the floor hysterical was a sore lash to his pride, though the lesson he'd learnt regarding those recordings he had to take was an important one; never keep something you couldn't easily explain the meaning behind. Having those spheres had made him over-confident until Chandra had called his bluff; still, he'd learnt his lesson and worrying over it now was as pointless as thinking too long on the Simic complaints regarding the freshness of the subjects he'd had them work on.

Thinking about the report he'd left blotchy red fingerprints over Jace considered how best to raise this subject with the usurious Guilds' representative. The Orzhov were notorious for playing things close to their chest and it was hardly surprising his idea of having all unexplained deaths properly researched by the biomancy Guild was poorly received by an organisation ruled by the dead, though Teysa was surprisingly pliant to the idea much to his surprise and the nagging suspicion she was angling for something. The deaths of three of their elderly councilmen was hardly a surprise given the Orzhov's cut-throat methods of Guild advancement but that they'd all died after eating at the same celebratory banquet a dozen others had enjoyed had aroused suspicion enough for the corpses to be grudgingly transferred to the Simic.

That the biomancers had discovered all three dead clergy had a strange grey powder they'd discovered to be stone-dust in their stomachs along with the poison that had killed them was unusual and might, the mind-mage hoped, give his fledgling idea some more traction with the obdurate Church even if it was likely an in-Guild matter. Resolving to do some digging into the affairs of the dead elders Jace put the matter from his mind and turned off the shower, thinking about someone else; so, even after doing her a favour Chandra would spit in his face would she? Fine, he could fight dirty as well but, he cautioned himself as he dried off, the towel turning vermillion as it mopped up the stained water, there was something else to do first. Dressing in a loose robe the Guildpact went into his study for a quill and parchment, the letter he had to pen already in his mind. Despite the humiliation he'd just gone through, public though it was, he'd give her a chance to make amends, though if she spurned it as he thought she probably would, all bets were off.

If it was war Chandra Nalaar wanted it was war she was going to both get and, he'd make sure of it, regret!

XXX

Hearing her lodger humming from the kitchen as she came in Dorlunn Ruz was left chuckling as she put her varied consumables on the table, hearing the faint clink of coin in her apron fold and holding in a wince as she realised how little was left,

"You're in a good mood – hey!" The older woman was caught by surprise as the young Gateless caught her arms and pulled her into a few steps of a clumsy dance,

"It's been a wonderful day", Chandra sang, beaming at the memory of the cloud of redness obscuring her nemesis before she'd ducked back onto her platform; how she hadn't tumbled from the ceiling laughing following Buuthe shouting up to her she'd never know, "someone I loathe just got a well-deserved comeuppance".

"Oh dear, I hope no-one was hurt..."

"Lunn", the red-haired girl who'd been under her roof for nearly a month whined, "don't spoil one of my soon-to-be treasured memories!" The older woman, mousy hair peppered with grey and wondering if her eldest would be bringing his siblings in soon, pursed her lips in disapproval,

"Laughing at someone elses' expense; you've been around that Guild too long Chandra, they've a penchant for nasty jokes", the unconscious venom on her landlords' face stopped the firebrand answering; she still hadn't found the time or courage to ask the exact circumstance behind Dorlunns' hatred for the Izzet, "you'd be better off working outside any of the Guilds. You've youth and vigour on your side, use it – there's no tavern in this city that wouldn't see you earning your keep in tips alone".

"Not with my temper", the firebrand said with feeling, "first pat or pinch he'd get his nose staved in and I'd be out on my sore rear end, and anyway", she drew herself up self-importantly, "I'm not barmaid stock".

"You're never too good to work tables Chandra, I've mopped hundreds in my time", the widow quoted sagely before a memory flashed over her face and she shot her lodger a crafty wink, "danced on a few of them too".

"Dorlunn!"

"Ha, if you'd pull that face for every snip of banter perhaps it's best you don't take up the apron", Chandra was left blushing as the older woman snickered at her scandalised expression, "still I've fond memories of my time in the Drunk Dragon, it's where I met Jariz after all".

Mention of the father of the three Ruz children, the eldest with his voice hoarse as he changed from boy to man, his sister about Brannon's age and the youngest maybe a few years younger, made the pyromasters' face soften – despite the touch of the Purifying Fire the loss of her own family still ached. The two were silent for a moment, each lost in their memories before Dorlunn recovered slightly the faster and looked to her houseguest,

"Have you seen my three troubles anywhere about?"

"Uh, yes, they were in when I came in, about mid-afternoon. They're outside on the common, though Dorun might be chopping wood for old Gergor over the way".

"Such a good boy", the Izzet widow thought fondly of her eldest, "every copper counts these days".

"Guess so, and before I forget here's my part", the planeswalker said quickly, handing over her rent money with a spare copper hidden between the two silver coins; Dorlunn had taken her in at short notice and that kind of kindness was worth far more than money. If the woman noticed she said nothing of it, slipping the money into the front pouch of her apron – as she had learned at bitter cost you could swallow pride, you couldn't eat it,

"Would you mind calling for them, I'll start cooking in a moment, though before that happens tell what happened in the Izzet; no-one was hurt were they?"

"Only his ego", Chandra smirked, trying not to sound too smug as she relived the delicious moment she'd demolished her rivals' supposedly-secure redoubt, telling the now-crimson mage that if he released those spheres she'd drag his reputation into the mud alongside hers and he'd not get within eyeshot of Keral Keep without a roasting reception if he stepped off-plane – on Regatha the fire mages looked out for their own, "we were just setting up and I volunteered to go up top..."

XXX

"...looked down and whump", she spread her arms dramatically, two of the four sat around the table gasping at her tale, "a big red cloud, like a stone in dust on a dry day. I won't say I wasn't scared", the thought of wasting such a gilt-edged chance with a miss had her heart in her mouth until the uncontrollable howling from below let her own hilarity go, "but when I jumped off the rappels and saw who I'd nearly hit I lost it. Someone up there was smiling on me; he'd embarrassed me a few weeks ago and my slip made us even".

"Tha' was lucky Chandra".

"In a way", seeing the beady glare look sent her way the firebrand cautiously agreed with Dorlunn's only daughter, little Jara taking more after her father than her mother with her shock of blonde hair flopping to her shoulders, "but it could easily have been a lot worse for both of us. It only just missed landing on him; that could have been dangerous so we can't use dye-bags as ballast any more in case the rope snaps again. Remember that you three, be careful what you take up the common trees with you – even if you only drop it a little way it could hurt someone underneath you".

The firebrand was talking from chastening experience; following Jace stalking from the Izzet Guildhall with his pride in ribbons she'd thought nothing could have brought down only to run straight into a tongue-lashing from Boomer that still rang in her ears now. She was only lucky the guildmage had believed her when she'd said the dye-bag had been over the platform side as a counterweight; if the truth had come out Buuthe might well have carried her coal-hauling threat. Even worse, the Izzet researchers' remonstrations about how fortunate they were that the Gateless hadn't been killed were enough to prick her bubble of contentment; the bag had been light and she'd aimed away from her target but at the back of her mind she had to admit that, had Jace dived the wrong way, it could have given him a pretty nasty whack he didn't really deserve. Still, having made that clear to the children as she'd promised their mother she would, Chandra was licking her lips at the sight of a tray of spiced flour biscuits Dorlunn was bringing in from the kitchen when there was a solemn knock from the hall,

"I get it", Klobud, the youngest and closest to the noise, slipped off his seat and scampered away; his mother was sure to keep a pair of steaming pastries back for him as the rest of the table, Chandra included, dived for them; the taste was worth the risk of scalded or smacked fingers as Dorlunn wielded her wooden spoon like a sabre to keep the shares fair. Crunching her way through a mouthful of crumbs, the firebrand looked up at a mangled version of her name,

"San-ra", she smiled and cocked her head as the younger child, his grey eyes downcast, came forwards with something clutched in his pudgy hand, "for you".

"What's this?" It was a missive of some kind, a small, folded envelope, "Who left it?"

"Big steel man", Klobud shrugged, interested as the pyromancer regarded the envelope curiously; who'd send a courier, as the steel golems that passed information around Ravnica were usually known in this part of town, for her? Though not expensive, they weren't exactly cheap either given they would unerringly track the name given to them to deliver their information – she had an inkling and the neat hand that had quilled her name on the envelope front raised her suspicions still further but it wasn't until she scanned the message and saw the name at the bottom that she fully believed it,

"Good news I hope?" The question caught her off-guard and, noticing the interest from those she was sharing the table with, Chandra cleared her throat and stuffed the missive into her pocket,

"Nothing too important, I'll deal with it later. So, uh", she glanced at Jara with an avaricious eye, "are you going to finish that?"

As the girl quickly held her remaining half-biscuit out of reach the firebrand was left to look pitiable, though she managed to snaffle a quarter of it for the promise of a story later.

XXX

It was a promise she upheld gladly, pulling the thin blanket up to the blonde girls' chin and brushing a strand of hair away from her rounded cheek after Jara succumbed to slumber that night. Dorlunn would have to keep an eye on her daughter when she grew older Chandra decided, smiling fondly as she watched the child sleep. The tale she had spun had been an old one, though not from Ravnica; her father had been a kind, gentle soul, settling his daughters each night with tales of heroism, wit and daring valour; memories of falling asleep with such dreams in her head were amongst the few memories of home she was grateful for. Standing from the childs' bed and smoothing down the covers Chandra stepped noiselessly into the hallway, nodding in greeting to the other woman who emerged from a nearby door,

"Jara?"

"Out cold"; Dorlunn smiled, regarding her lodger gratefully,

"As are the other two; you've a silver tongue Chandra".

"I knew someone her age in the other district", the firebrand admitted half-truthfully, remembering the first few nights Brannon had endured within Keral Keep terrified of his new surroundings, the powers he had manifested and missing his parents, "it helped him get to sleep, just lucky it worked here as well".

"Luck's little to do with it, as I'm sure you'll find out one day; so", before the firebrand could give her words too much thought the elder woman had gone on, nodding towards her pocket, "what did the courier give you? Good news I hope?"

"Uh, maybe", in all honesty she hadn't thought much about it; now was probably a good time to start, "I'll have a night to sleep on it".

Luckily Dorlunn didn't pry and her lodger was able to examine the letter in the privacy of her small room, slightly irked that Jara had more space than she did, though at least she wasn't sharing like Dorun and Klobud were. Conjured a candle on the end of her braids Chandra read the letter over four or five times, each recital giving her something different to ruminate over as she considered any and all meaning that could have been packed into it. It was definitely from her some-time enemy given the smudges of redness on the sides of the paper, so had likely been written this evening. Once more the red cloud expanding under her eyrie making her smirk before the letter recaptured her attention; what was the mind-mages' motive behind this offer, or did he even have a deeper motive beyond just wanting to talk to her?

She was first to admit she didn't know all that much about other people; a lifetime of bouncing around the Multiverse for treasure and adventure or studying how to burn things better didn't leave a lot of time for friendships. Added to that the fact the man she'd just one-upped was a practitioner of oceanic magic, and an adept one, was a whole new scoop of powder in the keg; there was likely a lot going on behind those blue eyes she was ignorant to. Still, if nothing else it was a free meal and, perhaps, a chance to converse relatively freely with someone who understood the unique issues those who bore a Spark faced; that and her curiosity about his role on Ravnica and the job he held was enough for her to put the letter on the bedside table, let her mana wink out and fall quickly to sleep, resolving to deal with it in the morning.

The following morning, after breakfast and when little ears were elsewhere playing or fighting with others on the districts' common ground Chandra asked her landlord for a quill and if she knew any halfway-reputable establishments for midday drinking nearby. When both of these were provided the pyromaster smiled evilly as she licked the tip of the quill and dipped it into an almost-empty pouch on her belt.

After all, tempting and seemingly-agreeable as this offer was, it would be best to let the mind-mage know exactly who held the upper hand between them.

XXX

A/N: Revenge is a dish best served... for a great height! So, anyone want to read more or is this best left as a two-shot? If more, updates will be slow due to my currently-breakneck working life and other fictions but I'll get back to you ASAP!


	3. Chapter 3 Truce over Tiffin

Chapter 3 – Truce over Tiffin.

"Sit down all, let's..."

"Bwaahhahahahaha!"

"...Thank you Guildmage Zarek", the acid in Jaces' tone could have stripped off the paint still clinging to his skin as Ral tried to make amends,

"Sorry", he managed, biting down a smile as he glimpsed the memory adept before being forced to look away, "just every time I think about it – poof! At least it put some colour in your cheeks." He snorted again, several of the other former Maze Runners not meeting each others' gazes as Jace took a deep, calming breath and scowled at the lot of them,

"The betting", he said eventually, "I mind less than the fact you trusted Ral Zarek not to meddle with it somehow; how did you make sure he wouldn't interfere? No, really; to keep him out of my business I've tried everything short of bodily harm..."

"It was a blind pick of numbers", Tajic stated, trying to hold in a smirk as Ral folded his arms childishly, "he got the last one and gave us his word he'd not interfere".

"And you believed him?"

"Hey!"

"We did after Thar threatened to throw him into Exava's club naked if he cheated", one of the ogres' heads grinned as the Rakdos representative smiled, licking her rite-knife salaciously as Ral shrank closer to the merfolk on his other side much to Vorels' amusement, "as he didn't win though it's a moot point".

"Moot for you lot maybe, not for the one in the middle of it", Jace muttered sourly, taking his seat around the table and accepting the missive Lavinia passed him. Though the table was round and none of the chairs were reserved for the Guild representatives; it was usually a case of first come, first served for seating; it had soon become apparent that everything worked most smoothly when the Azorius representative was on one side of the Guildpact. Lavinia also took the minutes for the weekly get-together; originally Jace had intended that to be a rotating duty between the council but memories of Tajics' first and only stab at the duty were enough to make him shudder even now – the Boros representative butchered grammar as well as he did the Legions' enemies,

"So then, first on the list and I hope you know I loathe you for this Zarek..."

"Love you too Guildpact".

"I could dispose of him."

"Uh, no, thank you Exava", the offer took Jace a little aback, even more so as the blood-witch regarded him across the table, her black eyes inhumanly focussed and cold,

"Really", he guessed she was attempting to look persuasive – it was a disturbing vision but, the mind-mage reasoned, rather that than the last time she'd tried to convince him of anything, "there'd be more red around his feet than there was around yours".

"There would as well", Zarek said fearfully, regarding the merfolk next to him with a pleading look, "hide me?"

"Not many places to hide in our clade, and the jag-frog pits are a _bad_ idea – seen them strip a cow to bones in minutes..."

"Thank you", Jace slewed the conversation back on track, quelling Exava's query with a piercing glare, "there's not much on the agenda this week and I'd like to go home reasonably early today, just for a change".

"In that we have common cause Guildpact", the strident whisper issued from the Orzhov representative, Teysa rapping her cane against the wood of the table, "the Church elders call council tonight, I must prepare".

"Good luck busting those old ghosts", Tajic rumbled with feeling, the raven-maned woman glancing at him sidelong as he gestured to Jace, "apologies Guildpact, carry on".

"Very well; as I was saying", he paused, just fractionally, to glance around the table, holding in a scowl at Lavinia's almost invisible smirk, "first item is the new formulation of the Izzet, a paint made from a pigment they call Niv-du..."

"Gnnngggghhhhehehehehe! I'm tryiheheheheing!"

"You're very trying", Jace glowered before, temper giving way, he nodded across the table to unleash the big guns, "when the meet is dismissed he's all yours Exava!"

XXX 

Some hour or so later the mind-mage was half-satisfied to see the Izzet mage shoot off like a streak of greased lightning and half-concerned when his would-be pursuer let him get away. As had become apparent soon after the Guildmeet first convened, several representatives had occasional issues they considered best discussed privately so Jace had made it a habit to hang around for a few minutes to hear them out as long as it wasn't too pertinent or an outright bribe. As usual there were only a couple who had hung back to catch his ear, the order decided as the Rakdos representative casually flipped her dagger into the air between them and said colourlessly,

"Catch". Her opponent said nothing but with a speed that belied her congenital injury her free hand shot out like a striking snake, grabbing the airborne weapon snugly by the hilt. Teysa handed the blade back, the Rakdos representative stepping around the table slightly to give her and the Guildpact privacy as she resheathed the rite-knife,

"What is it Guildmage Karlov?" Teysa smiled, the expression surprisingly warm on her pallid face,

"I have a message I was bidden to give you; the Ghost Council have seen the work done by the biomancers under your sway and are, not displeased with their results, though the report gives us no clues as to who was responsible for those unfortunate deaths".

"Who benefitted from them would be the first place I'd look", Jace pointed out before nodding at the shorter woman, Teysa as always slightly hunched both to keep a tight grip on her walking cane and portray a visage of weakness, the last thing anyone foolish enough to attack her would ever see, "still, give my regards to the Obzedat and good luck for your council this evening. Are you sanctifying the successors to the dead?"

"And the roles of the shades that have passed; I'll be keeping a close eye on those looking too pleased with themselves, living or dead", Jace chuckled as the envoy of the Church stepped away, the rhythmic tapping of her stick on the cobbles receding as the Guildpact took a breath and checked how far from the door he was before facing the last of his council,

"Exava, what can I do for you?"

The Rakdos was silent for a brief second, her hands instinctively straying to the blades now peace-bound to her hips. One of the first rules Jace had made upon calling this council was that any weapons brought had to be bound in such a manner, though in Exava's case he and the others allowed her to keep her rite-knife unrestrained as it was more a ceremonial blade and the fact that, if she wanted someone dead, she didn't need a weapon anyway. Regarding the fierce woman who had once held him at knifepoint Jace found himself simultaneously revolted and sympathetic to not just the blood-witch but the entire Guild she represented. Even in normal clothing rather than her ringmaster garb Exavas' tanned skin was marked with pale scars, the woman death and allure given form as she stood before him, Jace to his credit not backing away,

"There has been death Guildpact; as you wished to know of it so I have told you".

"I see; not amongst your performers?" She shook her head, braids swaying and Jace scowled, looking pensive, "How so then?"

"Those who cast off their chains", her voice was a low growl, the scar across her throat to show her ultimate devotion to her parun gleaming in the light of the council hall, "there was a meet, many of them. There was wine, and oaths, blades were drawn..."

"Typical Rakdos celebration then", the mind-mage said lightly, grateful when Exava smiled and even more grateful that, contrary to popular rumour, her teeth hadn't been filed to points sharper than Mirkos' fangs, "how many?"

"All; the building fell", she muttered, tapping the pommel of her ritual rite-knife and looking severe, "but it should not have. They were old; their fight should not have brought the walls down".

"When was this?"

"Three days ago; the Gruul have already cleared the site. I knew only when I started asking questions, those who failed to inform me have been disciplined". Shuddering at the thought of that chastisement Jace nodded and looked her full in the face,

"Very well Exava; it might be too late to do anything now but keep your ears open and, if you can, your unshackled away from booze and pointy things".

The blood-witch smiled again, brushing his shoulder as she strode past and Jace had to bite back a second shudder, letting out a breath only when the door banged shut behind her. Dropping into the nearest seat the Living Guildpact ran the two conversations through in his mind briefly; death at the Rakdos was so common it was almost laughable but that it had come from the unshackled, and elderly ones at that, was a little more unusual. Given his new station Jace had become a lot more intimate with the workings of all the Guilds and had been amazed to find the Rakdos held the greatest hidden depths. Most of Ravnica saw the thrill-killers, the ringmasters, the blood-spattered performances; very few could be bothered to see the strong back of the Cult that made life on the metropolitan plane possible.

At their dark and dangerous core the Rakdos were a last resort, a place to go when you lost everything and everyone, a level lower than even the Golgari where, given time and the support of the Swarm, you might pick yourself back up again. Those who fell or cast themselves into the Cult were usually ill-informed, in which case they paid their dues quickly and were soon gone, or those who embraced despair so deeply they cared little if they lived or died. Whether through the shackles, the legalised slavery that had the Cult's labour gangs break their back for the other Guilds, or in the fighting pits where every dead enemy meant you got to live another heartbeat on the blades' edge, the Rakdos took those with nothing and gave them purpose.

It was a breathtakingly simple, diabolically cruel system, the dreaming parun of the Guild, now fortunately quiescent, feeding off the despair and bloodlust as his Cult waxed strong in the aftermath of the Implicit Maze. Personally Jace detested the Guilds' method but recognised its value; Ravnica simply couldn't function without the labour-gangs even if building on the sweat of the hopeless made him recoil, even more so after he'd become aware of the Cults' attrition rate. Those Exava had mentioned had done well to survive into old age even in the shackles; to die crushed in a Rakdos drinking den after some fool pulled a knife was an irony to make even their slumbering parun chuckle. Still, unfortunate as it was, it would soon be forgotten; few at the Rakdos ever lingered in memory, least of all those who'd paid their way out of the Guild to throw off their shackles; but Teysa's words had been more encouraging – if the elders of the Orzhov were slowly coming around, perhaps it wouldn't be so long before he could table a few of his new propositions...

The thought was still on his mind a few hours later when he quietly sat at a small table outside a nondescript tavern somewhere near the Izzet guild and reached for the menu. By design he had a little time so shucked off his bag, reaching into it for some of the papers he'd brought with him; it was mostly mindless work but it gave his body something to do while he thought of other things. For some reason neither Teysa nor Exava's words would leave his ears, though neither would Rals' helpless guffaws; he'd come up with a scheme to get even with the Izzet mage when he had a moment; but try as he might to drag his mind to other topics every path led back to the Guildmeet.

He knew all ten of the Guild representatives well but at the same time not at all; apart from Emmara, who'd been a trusted friend for almost a decade, how much did he truly know about them? He couldn't really say too much about secrets given none knew his true nature but at the same time he couldn't help but think back to the familiar faces and wonder what they held behind them. He knew, for instance, that Vorel had once been one of the Gruul; why had he joined the Hull Clade – simple expediency for his ideas to flourish or something more? Similarly Teysa had once had a brother, or something similar – what had become of him, and what had driven Exava to become the blood-witch who stood where so many had fallen? He'd seen her fight on a handful of occasions and her fury was staggering in its impersonality; unlike her contemporaries her wrath was icy, her rage controlled and she was all the more dangerous for it, a maniac with iron...

"Hey!" The sudden shout made him jump alarmingly, though as he recollected both his thoughts and his papers he had to suddenly fight down a smile – from the psychopath to the pyromancer, was it a quirk of fate he knew so many people who could kill him in a heartbeat?

XXX

Doubts were starting to nag when she suddenly realised the mysterious mind-mage she was looking for and the man sat facing away from her were the same person.

With his cloak draped over the chair and the white streaks marring his face invisible from this angle if she hadn't been forewarned she'd have walked straight past him, though in her defence him poring over some parchment of unspeakable dullness helped him blend in. Even here he looked less out of place than she did; everywhere on Ravnica the gateless outnumbered their guild peers, though so close to the Izzet guildhall her getup wasn't turning heads either. Still, emboldened he'd actually had the guts to show up she paced towards his table, expecting him to spin around and try to surprise or startle her. Any second now, she was sure of it, so sure that when she made it to within arms-reach she was irritated by his inattention and reacted accordingly,

"Hey!" The mind-mage jolted, the paper he was examining almost flying off the table before he snatched it back. Catching a glimpse of the title Chandra snorted, taking a seat opposite him as he pulled the satchel he'd hung with his cloak onto his lap and sequestered the rogue parchment within it,

"That paper looks even duller than you".

"It's hardly a document of legend I'll grant you but it's necessary", a flicker a doubt sparked in her mind; rather than snapping at the taunt he deflected it without riposte, "still, it can wait until this evening".

"Wow, your social life must be the envy of Ravnica. What do you do for excitement, organise the bookshelves?"

"If I'm in the mood", Jace replied noncommittally, slinging the satchel again and missing Chandras' disquiet as once more her shot failed to find its mark, "and I'm grateful for the peace. My post provides me with all the excitement I need and quite a lot I don't".

"I'll bet – what do you actually do?"

"Depends what day it is", at her nonplussed look Jace smirked slightly and let slip a half-truth, "this morning, for instance, due to Guildmage Exava storming the Guildmeet I was mostly cowering in my office".

"Exava?"

"Blood-witch of the Rakdos, their main courier of news to the Guildmeet hall and as close as I've ever seen to death on two legs", at his quiver Chandra made a note of the name – anyone who could put the shivers up the insufferable memory adept was someone worth knowing, "she always makes me, well she makes everyone uncomfortable given she's killed more people than most have had hot dinners. There was an argument I could overhear, something about them and the Simic coming to blows over territory; I had to write up the transcript of the eventual agreement before I came here. Not that it stopped me arriving before you", he pointed out waspishly, gesturing to a nearby clockwork tower, "anything important blow up?"

"I was on ceiling duty", the pyromancer said smoothly, biting down on a smirk at her opponents' scowl, "turns out I've got a talent up there. You'll be pleased to know there've been no more slips since Buuthe banned us from using the dye bags as ballast".

"Glad to hear it", Jace couldn't quite scrub the growl from his tone and, much as he wanted to, couldn't scrub the triumphant grin from the firebrands' face either, "I have, however, been forced to draft a punishment proforma for future offences, it's going through the law mages now – feathers may be involved". Back to level pegging he mentally decided as Chandra's smirk fell off with a clang, though before she could look too suspicious he broke the cycle of blame by pulling one of the menus towards him,

"I didn't beat you here by much", he left the timescale vague deliberately, "before this degenerates into mud-slinging shall we at least order?"

Hunger let the insult slide; despite only working just over half the day repainting the steam pipes was cramped, thirsty works with no breaks, something Chandra was sure her current superior was making the most of following her getting back at Beleren. She was actually lucky she'd gotten off as early as she had, splashing her face with cold water as her fire burnt off the flecks of paint that caught her skin and hair prior to coming here; Buuthes' invention wasn't proof against her kind of heat. Since she'd replied to the mind-mages' missive doubts had been gnawing in the back of Chandras' mind and she'd had arguments and denials chambered and prepared but, as she scrutinised the menu, thus far such planning had been unnecessary. If anything Jace seemed even less interested in a fight than he had on the-day-that-would-never-be-spoken-of-again, something that ironically wound her up more than if he'd been waiting with violence on his mind. Anger she could understand; whatever the mind-mage was conveying she didn't like it, though before she could dwell too long someone arrived beside their table,

"Ready to order?" It was a man, guildless from his youth and nondescript clothes,

"I am – Nalaar?"

"Chandra damn it", the pyromancer demanded before turning to the waiter who'd retreated half a step at her ire, "spiced wine, just one cup, and whatever the soup of the day is. Make sure the breads' fresh and don't be stingy with it either".

"We're never stingy at the _Watered Weird_ ", he assured her before turning, "and for..."

"Just cold water and two rounds of toast, heavy-bread. Do you have Scrapings?"

"We do, warm or cool?"

"Cool please, that'll do for me".

"Very good; it'll be a few minutes", the boy took their menus and retreated within the small building, one Chandra couldn't call a tavern despite it serving liquor. It was too small and most of those sharing the tables at its front with them were eating rather than drinking, a couple of them wearing Izzet sigils she noticed belatedly,

"So", the word dragged her attention back to Jace's expectant gaze, "just soup?"

"Only thing served hot in this city; listen Beleren..."

"Jace", he cut her off with a raised hand, "if you want me to call you by your first name at least extend me the same courtesy". The valid point choked off her argument and she nodded before moving on to the meat of the issue,

"Fine then Jace, let's not waste time; apart from some paint-remover what do you want?" The jab made him narrow his eyes, the lines around them still ingrained with faint red staining but, for now, his temper held,

"Given the answer to that question could fill a library you'll have to narrow it down a little".

"Don't mess me about..."

"But you make it so easy – very well", he sighed just as her eyes flashed red, "I simply wished to make sure all is even between us after what happened at the Guildmeet, the Izzet and everything before that".

Chandra was driven first to gaping, then to a snort of disbelief by the mundane question,

"Really", she didn't quite not believe him but there was definitely something else at play, something he wasn't saying, "you asked me here to ask me that? What would you have done if I'd not replied?"

"I'd have stayed out of your way and done nothing until forced to by law or ill-fortune", for some reason his indifference grated worse than a threat but she held her tongue, "I didn't think you'd say no though. Those attuned to the mountains scarcely back down from a challenge and you're no exception; when faced with a dragon and cut off from their magic most would run away screaming rather than stay and fight it out".

"As opposed to shouting advice from somewhere safe like those of the oceans; without me to take the heat you'd have been an appetiser for that thing", she countered before reluctantly conceding to his logic, "still you've got it right I don't back down – you really expect me to believe there's nothing else, no scheme you're trying to work? I've been played as a fool before Beleren, no more and certainly not by you".

"I have no intentions of playing you for anything; is it really so hard to believe I just want a bit of peace?" Jace snapped, temper fraying at her pig-headedness, "You've good reason to want me dead and Ravnica can ill-afford a spat between", he leant forwards slightly, voice low, "mages such as us, least of all one as destructive as you can be".

"At least fire's a quick death", she riposted, though without much bite – despite their past antagonism what he said was true; feuds between planeswalkers were best avoided by those without magic of their own, "all right, I don't want you dead Be... Jace; you'd never have gotten out the Eye if I did; but I do want answers".

"To what?"

"What happened to you for a start; you're different, you're", she groped for a word other than 'boring', "gods damn it you have a _job_ – I didn't think that was possible for a... someone like you! It just doesn't make sense".

Jace sat back and was silent for a long moment, regarding her from under brooding brows as he formulated his answer. Chandra fancied she could almost see the gears in his mind whirring faster than those of the clock tower until he spoke, each word measured to a fine degree of colourlessness,

"I don't say this as an insult but I doubt it would make sense to you – however before I tell you what happened I have two conditions. Firstly I'd like to know where you went after the Eye; fair is fair, my decision to stay here hinges a lot on what went on there and for all your talk of me changing you're not the same either, not quite. I'd be interested to know why and to know about what's gone on outside Ravnica – I've not been abroad as much as before". The fire mage considered this before conceding the point; if nothing else he might have heard of her nemesis,

"Fine but you're not getting anything personal".

"I want nothing personal."

"Just as well; what was the other thing?" Jace smiled, nodding over her shoulder,

"We wait until after we've eaten; it's been a while since breakfast and I'm famished".

XXX

The bread was steaming as Chandra broke it, its yeasty aroma filling her nose as she dunked a piece into the meaty broth the boy had set before her. Pressing a fingertip to the bowl a sliver of her mana sent the soup boiling; it tasted pretty good, though the firebrand noticed Jace was taking a more sedate pace with his lighter meal. There was something vaguely unnerving about how he systematically slathered every inch of the browned bread with thick yellow butter; surely such meticulous preparation was the mark of an unhinged mind. She smiled at the thought until his knife tip pierced the seal over a clay pot on his platter and a pungent smell made her nose crinkle,

"What's that?"

"Scrapings", Jace replied, scraping the aptly-named thick black spread over his toast, "an acquired taste".

"How'd you acquire that taste, or is it better I don't know?" The smell was unlike anything she'd come across and considering the forges, smelters and swamps she'd ducked her head into over the years that was saying something,

"One of my fellow workers brought some in for us all to try", Jace broke off to take a mouthful, nodding in appreciation before going on, "I'm quite partial though Lavinia can't stand the stuff, nor can Gergor now I think about it."

"Really?"

"You love it or hate it, there's no in-between; you're about to boil over". Chandra's brows furrowed until she followed his glance downwards and yelped, cancelling her mana before the now-frothing broth slopped over the side of its bowl; desperate to swerve Jace's inevitable comment she asked the first thing that came to mind,

"What's it made of?"

"Guild secret of the Golgari, though I think old beer hops have something to do with it".

"Golgari dining?" The thought made the pyromancer queasy, "Surely that's..."

"Not something for the unwary", Jace chuckled before turning more serious, "but many would have starved if not for the Swarm in the past so if one of their recipes can make them some coin I say all the better for them".

"Right, that's it", the sudden resolve in her tone made him look up and see her regarding him askance, "if your food goes cold I'll reheat it but answer me now. I came here expecting... I don't know, not this", she indicated the spread before them disbelievingly, "what's going on with you?" Jace regarded her for a moment and, to her slight surprise, he sighed in resignation,

"What's going on, as you put it, is that I've seen what fighting can lead to too often", he sounded weary from what she guessed was bitter experience, "so I thought why not try, just for once, to talk things out? From what I can tell your bone of contention is that..."

"My bone of what?"

"Contention; oh, sorry", sayings common on one plane often didn't translate well to others, a trap he'd fallen into frequently during his past sojourns, "it means the sore point, the thing making you uncomfortable".

"Bone of contention", Chandra swirled the words around as though savouring fine wine, "I'll remember that one. Apart from that though my bone, as you put it, is that the mind-mage I remember would have been elbows-deep in my head a few weeks ago", her eyes were hard as opal, scrutinising his face for any falsehood as she broke the bone jabbing her peace of mind, "you could have thrown away the key, why didn't you?"

"Why would I? You broke a law I know you didn't really know about and if ignorance isn't a defence it shouldn't be a condemnation either. You paid your dues, eventually," she glowered menacingly as Jace couldn't quite hide his smirk before ironing his expression straight, "and that was all, no criminal record for you and no further trouble for me. Put yourself in my places; what would you have done?"

"I..." the sudden turning tables caught the fire mage on the fly, "...stop changing the subject!"

"I'm not – you seem to be under the impression I want you dead or locked away for some reason and I've no idea why."

"Why?" She gave a disbelieving snort, "Keral Keep ring a bell?"

"Several and as I said before I'm sorry about it", the mind-mages' tone was tinged with slightly sharper reasoning as he went on, "however even given what did happen there I didn't attack because you, Chandra Nalaar, were there and I decided you were my enemy. I did it because I thought it the best way to get my job done".

"Your job?" The revelation crashed over the firebrand like a wave; she'd known his presence hadn't been an accident and guessed something like this but to hear it confirmed was another matter, "You were what, paid to steal from us?"

"Not so much steal as steal back; here it is, the whole thing from my side", he waited for her to nod before pointing to her cooling soup, "you might as well eat, it's not really that interesting. At the time I was working for someone called Tezzeret, a mistake in and of itself but that's a different story, and after your theft on Kephalai we were contacted by the Sanctum. They realised the thief must have been a planeswalker during her escape and Tezzeret sent me to answer their summons. I got a description of you, the scroll I had to track down and orders to return it and, more importantly and the reason I was sent in the first place, to erase all knowledge of the scroll from anyone who knew of it". Chandra's eyes flared,

"So that was why... you _did_ mess with my head, Brannon was right!"

"Assuming Brannon was the boy you were with yes, he was – is he your brother, or cousin?" Chandra looked to the heavens as though imploring for patience,

"Why do people think that – no, he's another student of the Keep and we get on".

"I didn't get a close look at him", Jace reminded her before continuing his story, "I followed you through the aether, heard your name on my travels; when I arrived at the Keep it was just luck I found you and Brannon alone. I thought I'd likely never have a better chance at the Scroll so we fought, I did what I needed to and returned it to its owners. There was nothing behind it Chandra, certainly no malice on my part; it was just a task I'd been set and I never expected to see you again, the Eye and here were both a real shock for me".

It was a strange kind of relief; though Jace didn't consider her a foe the fact their fight had been purely for material gain somehow sat ill with her – if she didn't like feeling like a tool she also resented being seen as an obstacle. Thinking back with another spoonful of soup a memory from the second-to-last time they'd come face-to-face came to her, provoking her curiosity,

"So, if you could do it again, the Keep I mean", she asked carefully, Jace pausing in buttering his second slab of bread, "what would you do differently?"

"I ask myself that a lot, not just about Regatha", the mind-mage admitted as he set down his knife, "ideally I'd never have been there in the first place – Tezzeret and his Consortium was a mistake. Still, regarding the Keep, I should have introduced myself to whoever was in charge to explain why I needed that Scroll back; I could have worked out a deal for it from there. The best plan I've come up with would have been to help your chroniclers decode it and create a complete false copy, then use my mana to convince everyone in the Keep, preferably with permission though I'd have to remove that later, that your 'false' copy was the real thing while I took the Dragon Scroll back to Kephalai; that way everyone got what they wanted. Still, that's hindsight – I've already apologised for our fight, hopefully this time you'll believe me".

The firebrand was silent for what seemed like a long time and Jace was sorely tempted, as he often was in the Guildmeet, to glimpse her brewing thoughts. He ruthlessly quashed the urge in favour of sating his resurgent appetite, being halfway through his second round of now-cool toast when he heard the other planeswalker snort, snicker and then laugh outright as she took a sip of her wine,

"If that's the alternative I'm actually glad we ended up fighting", Chandra admitted, smiling as the Ravnican quirked an eyebrow, "if you'd told Mother Luti what I'd done I'd have been confined to my monastery room for the next, I don't know, ten-thousand years. She's not a big fan of thievery but there was no way I'd have gotten it otherwise; everyone I asked on Kephalai was clear that once something's in the Sanctum it doesn't come out".

"Save via fleet-footed pyromancer", Jace reminded her sardonically, the firebrand snickering again before shrugging,

"There's nothing fire can't burn given time; still, you're right about eating", she pointed to his remaining leaves of bread and her own half-full bowl, "let's finish this then go from there, though I'm still expecting a good story as to why you're sat behind a desk most days!"

XXX

The soup was pretty tasty, the wine a little weak despite the cocktail of spices it was seasoned with warming it. Draining the dregs she licked her lips, waiting as Jace cleaned the edge of his knife on his last crust before crunching it down and regarding her again,

"So you know a little of my story, I believe it's your turn. Where did you go after the Eye; I'm afraid I remember little though I'm grateful you pulled me out of there".

"You should be; I was half-tempted to leave you behind and if I'd even suspected what'd happen next time our paths crossed you'd have been ashes before I left", she assured him venomously, temper not helped as Jace was forced to look away smirking, "but I went after the one who told me about the Dragon Scroll". Jace regarded her quizzically,

"It wasn't the Keep? I thought you knew of it from your records there", he defended himself as Chandra snapped a gimlet glare onto him,

"No, it was someone else; I caught up with him after several months running after his trail", she rubbed her knuckles, remembering how good it had felt to immolate the pets of the rabid shaman and the disappointment that he'd slipped away from his deserved fate, "hunted him down on a dark plane, don't know the name; it got... explosive".

"I can imagine; did he have time to scream before wondering what the burning smell was?" Despite herself the pyromaster chortled,

"Nah, couldn't kill him; bastard ran for it after I melted his summons and set his staff on fire. You've not heard of him have you; went by Ramaz, big guy, some kind of shaman?"

"How big?" At the sudden intensity in Jaces' eyes she caught her breath; if he did know this was a chance to find answers at last, "Did he wear a mask, like a hunters' cowl, or use a great-axe? How old was he?"

"Oldish, taller than you but not by much", Chandra tried to picture her opponent again and grimaced; even mentally Ramaz wasn't a pretty sight, "like a gnarled tree out in winter. Had a big beard and stank like manure but no, no axe or cowl". Jace let out a relieved breath,

"Not the man I was thinking of then; I know a lifemage, Garruk Wildspeaker, but he looked unwell last our paths crossed", if his throat ached from the memory he chose to ignore it, shaking his head apologetically as Chandra cursed a missed opportunity, "sorry, not heard of a Ramaz".

"Damn", she swore, tapping the tips of her nails off her gauntlet before shrugging, "still he wasn't the problem, not really. He was mad, completely gone like that shape-shifter on Zen... the other place".

"What, the dragon-mage?"

"That's the one; he led me into the damned Eye and his friend Ramaz told me about the map that got me that far", Chandra rehashed the circular logic that had seen her chasing her tail on Regatha for months in case Jace could see something she couldn't, "when I caught up to him he said something along the lines of 'just as planned' and that I'd been a great service to his master. Since then I've..."

"A dragon", her head shot up but the retort died in her throat; looking at her now was the mind-mage from Regatha, the man with iron fingers around Brannons' throat, "Ramaz, he served a dragon didn't he?"

"How did you know?" Even as she asked she answered her own question, "You know his master? Who is he?"

"Someone you pray you never meet", Jace wetted dry lips, looking down for an instant before coming to a decision, his azure eyes faintly lit with his mana as he faced her again, "if he's the one I'm thinking of, and I'll be damned if I know anyone else it could be, we've met. With your permission", he placed his hand on the table between them, palm up, "I'll show you, I have to – I don't think you'd believe me if I told you about him".

Chandra regarded the hand as though it clutched a knife; even after the touch of the Orders' white fire she was distrustful of mental magic but, on the other hand, this was a chance at a lead and Jace had done nothing to earn her ire today. He also looked genuinely concerned, though whether that was for her or the thought of dredging up his memories again she couldn't say; reluctantly and mentally braced she reached forwards and tapped his fingertips with her own. There was a small jolt, like a static shock, then she felt herself drawn inwards, stepping forwards instead of being forced back...

It could have been an instant, it could have been an eternity but when she returned to reality she was trembling, the visions she had seen not fading as she looked up at the memory adept,

"What", she didn't recognise her voice; she swallowed and tried again, "what _was_ that?"

"Nicol Bolas", the words Jace intoned sounded final, a coffin lid being slammed shut, "the last Elder Dragon, holder of so many titles he actually prefers just Nicol Bolas and", the aqua mage chuckled bitterly, "the most powerful, and likely most evil, being to ever hold a Spark".

"A Sp... A Spark", only the sudden squeeze on her fingertips cut off Chandra's shriek; lowering her voice she whispered hastily, "he's a frazzing planeswalker!" Jace snickered,

"You've been around the Izzet too long", he recognised the swear as one Ral Zarek frequently used, usually when Lavinia was being pedantic, "but yes, he is; remember I mentioned Tezzeret? He and Bolas had a, a falling out you could say and met on neutral ground; he took me along to try and stop the dragon using magic to read him – you can guess how well that turned out." Chandra's eyes were so wide her eyebrows had almost made it under her goggles,

"You stood against him?"

"Hells no, if he wanted me dead he'd have turned my brains inside-out; he let me live because... I don't know, I wasn't a threat? Would you kill a blind, lame puppy that barked at you – he didn't need to kill me and I was amusing so he didn't. I doubt, however, he would extend the same courtesy to those who went after him".

Even she couldn't miss a warning that obvious or, considering what she'd just seen, ignore it entirely. Ramaz had been dangerous but he was mortal; the dragon she had seen through Jaces' eyes though – that wasn't something she could simply burn or blast from existence. It was very rarely indeed Chandra Nalaar felt despair but if the shaman was under the wing of that beast there was little she could do and if there was one thing she truly hated it was feeling helpless,

"Damn it", the crockery rattled as she thumped the table with her armoured fist, "so that's, just... I don't have a prayer do I?"

"Both of us could call on every other 'walker we know and every summon we've bound to and we'd still likely have no chance", Jace said heavily, feeling a little sorry for the fire mage – he too had bad experiences of being toyed with like a marionette, "all I can do is advise you forget it. Whatever Bolas or Ramaz wanted with that scroll must have been to do with the Eye and it's over now, it's finished – you beat his cats-paw and I doubt the dragon is merciful to his defeated peons. If", he held up his free hand as Chandra made to speak, "you go against Nicol Bolas you will die – that's not a threat or an exaggeration, it's the truth".

"So what do I do?" She riposted, though her ire was directed more at the Multiverse in general than at Jace, "Why did he want me there, and was that other mage another of his cronies? And why me, I'm hardly the only pyromancer alive, and were you meant to be there too or was that just a coincidence?"

"I don't know and to be honest I don't really much... oh", he belatedly registered warmth in his hand, hastily opening his loose fist to free Chandras' fingers, "sorry, I didn't realise. It happens sometimes when I link minds, think nothing of it".

"Don't worry", Chandra lifted her hand away somewhat reluctantly, still shaken by what the mind-mage had shown her as she glanced across the table, "listen, I don't say this often but thanks for the warning". Jace smiled,

"Thanks for pulling me out of the Eye; so, is all square between us?"

"Almost", banishing visions of the terrible dragon planeswalker the pyromancer regarded him with a curious gaze, "what were you about to say, you don't much what?"

"Oh, that", Jace took a heartbeat to reorganise thoughts knocked askew by the sensation of warmer skin touching his fingers, "it's the answer to your earlier question really; I don't much care about anywhere else now, I'm happy on Ravnica".

She didn't understand and it must have shown; Jace explained without her even asking,

"After the Eye I was just drifting, I had no idea where to go or what to do", he sounded, if not beaten, then at least weary as he reminisced, "I came here, a place I was familiar with and stayed, just earned enough to survive and tried to work out what was wrong with me. I worked and I thought, I met others like Lavinia, some of the Guilds and others Guildless; we talked and worked and the more I was around them the more I realised what the issue was – it wasn't me exactly Chandra, it was that I had nothing. I wasn't penniless; I maintained some holdings on Ravnica even while I was away; but I had nothing really worth returning to – I had contacts not friends, informers rather than confidants. The longer I stayed here, in one place, the better I felt", he shrugged as Chandra put the pieces together and gaped; if what he was saying was true... "then one of my friends got involved in a nasty business I helped straighten out; after that I decided my place was here. You asked me what's changed, it's simple – I just don't want to 'walk any more".

XXX

The pyromancer was silent for a very long time and Jace waited patiently; Chandra was the first planeswalker he'd met since becoming the Guildpact and was interested in her take on his decision,

"You're a moron", that was a simple and straightforward take on it, "you'd stay on one plane when there's a whole Multiverse out there to explore, for what? Filing paper and listening to people moan – who the hell's going to remember that? The Spark's not a... it's a gift..."

"Is it?" He'd asked this question to himself a thousand times, "I'm beginning to call it a curse. People have used me Chandra, or tried to, both for my Spark and my other talents, or they assume I intend to use them. Even today you thought I was here to threaten or coerce you into some kind of deal, that the meal I hope you enjoyed was a sham. Looking over my shoulder every day for the next knife aimed at my back, the next shackle around my leg was killing me – I don't want it, not anymore."

"So you'd give up your freedom?" A sudden thought, part fear, part amazement filled her, "Can you still 'walk?"

"Yes of course; there's no magic I know that can remove a Spark, or at least remove it while keeping the original owner alive", the mind-mage answered with a grimace before sighing; looking into his face Chandra was surprised, and possibly a little jealous, at his sudden contentment, "believe it or not I'm happier now than I've been for many years. Yes I curse my work and it's little fun paying off a mortgage but I have friends here, a lot of them, and to me that means more than any hundred planes might. Look at it another way – if you didn't have Keral Keep to go back to would you truly be happy in your 'exploring the Multiverse' as you put it?"

It was a good question, so good she had no answer; even clasping her hands in front of her face and resting her chin on them provided no inspiration. Jace didn't seem in a hurry for a reply and, realising this, the firebrand held her hands up with a shrug,

"I'm the last person in the Multiverse to tell you what you should do with your life – your choice, you get on with it; it's the way I've always lived. It won't stop me thinking you're an idiot but it is your choice", she added, smirking as the memory adept regarded her sidelong,

"Your favour is noted", he remarked drolly, "so now I have for the second time prevented you likely ending up as dragon droppings can we finally say all's even between us?"

"We can, as soon as you apologise".

"For what?"

"I'm not saying it in public", Chandra's stern tone was undermined by the hint of a smile, "you know what you did, pervert".

"I am not a pervert", Jace dropped his voice to a fierce hiss, fighting to hold his temper against both her insult and her ingratitude, "you brought that on yourself, and if anything you should be thanking me for getting you off the hook after you nearly burnt down the Guildmeet!"

"Oh is that a Ravnican custom, drop a thank-you note off for your torturer?"

"Better than dropping paint on him, though that was a nice touch on your replying note."

"Aw, you noticed", the pyromancer half-cooed, Jace just about suppressing a grimace as he turned a bale glare her way,

"How could I forget; I don't recommend using it long-term though. Eating electrum-based substances can't be good for you and even if nothing of the Simic died they don't use human test subjects, not to my knowledge at least. Anyway back on topic you should be grateful; I could have had you thrown into a Boros cell and washed my hands of it all".

"Shame you couldn't do the same for your face; still redder than mine went in some places", the pyromancer riposted, blatantly amused as this time her shots told and stirred the mind-mage up, "apologise and we're even".

"Only if you say thank you".

"Not a hope – seems we're at an impasse mind-bender".

"Oh a big word, must have taken you days to learn that one", Jace retorted, grinning at his rivals' scowl, "but I have nothing to apologise for."

"Really? All right", she leant forwards, smile deepening with a hint of malice, "look me in the eye and say you took no pleasure in my suffering and I'll say all's square".

"Fine", Jace took a breath and glanced across the table, "there was no..."

"My eyes are up here".

"Sorry; as I was saying I didn't..."

"Those are my goggles; can't do it can you?" Jace had to drop his gaze under the weight of her smugness before inspiration gave him a cutting riposte,

"No more than you can look me in the eye and say you'd have preferred the official punishment for your actions. So", he mentally put them back on an even keel and slewed the conversation back onto neutral ground as Chandra winced, "neither of us will admit fault..."

"I'm not _at_ fault".

"...because I'm right and you're stubborn; how do you propose we breach this impasse?"

"I could just beat my apology out of you".

"Legally".

"Beatings are illegal here? Could've fooled me."

"They are for the most part and as a representative of the Guildmeet I'd have to step in unless there was one of the Boros or Azorius present".

"Damn, I thought you said your job was quiet".

"It has its moments", Jace ticked a couple off in his memory before focussing on his opponent again, "so, no violence and no magic – cards?" Caught off-guard Chandra spluttered with laughter, Jace not bothering to disguise his smirk,

"Against you? No chance – even if you couldn't mark the deck somehow you can probably count it. Arm-wrestle – no, I'd snap you like a crust of bread", it was Jaces' turn to scowl before she stopped dead and snapped her fingers, "wait, got it – how well do you know the Izzet?"

"Well enough to know to avoid them while you're anywhere nearby".

"Ever heard of a game of fools?"

"Fools? Isn't that... no, I'm not having anything explosive within a mile of my office, least of all you!"

"It's not all about explosions, well, not entirely; look", Chandra began explaining the rudimentary game as well as she could remember Buuthe's telling her the rules, "it's a challenge of invention, deception and skill. Each player has to somehow get the others to break a rule or set of rules drawn up at the start; last one in the game wins it and everyone else is a fool".

"Right," the drawl in Jace's tone set her hackles up, something the sight of him reaching into his satchel only confirmed, "I thought it might come to something like this. I do know of the fool game and thought it would appeal to you; it's destructive, irritating and childish".

"Flattery won't get you anywhere", Chandra told him, eagerly sizing up her opponent and thinking what tools she had back at both the Izzet and the Ruz household to have this bet won, "so, you think you can beat me?"

"I'm not sure it's a good idea to try; you've more experience than me after all; but it doesn't seem I've much choice. So", he set two sheets of paper down between them and held up a quill already filled with ink, unclasping the small stopper from its nib, "the basic rules; nothing illegal, which I'm sorry to tell you precludes violence..."

Time slipped past, the clientele of the _Watered Weird_ changing and the shadows lengthening a touch as the two planeswalkers set the terms for an unusual but, for their kind, surprisingly civil duel. After many crossings out, revisions and Jaces' quill requiring a couple of top-ups two copies of the agreement were made, Chandra snatching up hers and regarding it to make sure the mind-mage hadn't tried to wheel on the deal at all,

"So then", Jace summarised the salient points as he would after a long Guildmeet, "whoever attacks in a manner meant to cause injury or uses mana in any direct means, including any illusions disguising harm in my case, against the other will be the fool and must admit either gratitude or apology. No trick should cause lasting damage to body or property, we can use only friends or those we can either bribe or pay for and we must pay all costs; also we must meet weekly to give each other a chance to concede. Is that acceptable Miss Nalaar?"

"Watch who you call Miss, I haven't signed this yet", the fire mage threatened, scrutinising the contract and feeling the familiar heat of challenge pounding through her veins – since vanquishing Ramaz she'd not had a decent contest, "yeah, seems fine, although", a sudden thought occurred to her and she looked up with a lackadaisical smirk, "interested in an ante Beleren, or Master Beleren should I say?"

"Mr Beleren", Jace corrected her and the firebrand nodded, noting the mind-mages' loss in the back of her mind, "and that depends what an ante is".

"You don't know; not here huh?" Jace shook his head, "It means I'll raise you, I'm upping the stakes – let's make it a game of fools and secrets". Jace cocked his head, intrigued,

"How so?"

"Hoped you'd ask", Chandra took his copy of the contract and laid the two over each other, then carefully tore them both up from the bottom, leaving a pair of loose sheaves that she folded upwards in a square pattern, "when I unfold these; lend us your quill", Jace did and she quickly scrawled a large J and C on one folded section per parchment before unfolding them again, "we each write a secret on both papers, fold it up and seal it. The fool gets his secret revealed and must, if he has to, explain it to the other – sound fair?"

"What kind of secret?"

"Up to you but if it's not embarrassing enough when I see it you'll know".

"You seem confident it'll be mine revealed", Jace pointed out before taking his own copy back, "how do we seal them?"

"You seal both of yours and I seal both of mine; make it a binding that'll destroy the contract if it's tampered with, and that you'll feel going off".

"That I can do; you first, you have the quill".

Chandra didn't take long to scribble something down after forcing the mind-mage to look away; however from the corner of his eye Jace was somewhat amazed to see her method of protecting it. At first he thought she'd simply tucked her curtain of crimson behind her ear, only when he saw a strand of coppery hair pierce the folded parchment like a needle did he realise the mana she was wielding. It wasn't something he'd seen before and was quite fascinating to watch, the twin stitched hairs standing out like auburn dashes on the pale paper when she pushed them towards him,

"Break the threads and the whole thing will be ashes before you can blink", she assured him with a scoff, "your turn". Jace took a little longer in deciding, Chandra with her nose in the air as the sound of a scratching quill reached her ears and he folded the parchment up. His binding pulled enough water from the air to saturate not just the paper but anyone holding it should it be broken, the small glyph of mana colourless as he handed a sheet back to his rival,

"You know the Ravnican week? I'm usually off the second-half, more or less, of every sixth day and all day on the seventh."

"Hate to be you, I work as and when", the firebrand teased, preparing herself, "so, same time next week for you to come crawling for mercy?"

"If I can't make it I'll send a missive; I'd hate to think you were running away", Jace nettled, his opponent inhaling sharply at the insult before standing and tucking her copy of their agreement into her belt,

"From you – keep dreaming mind-mage. Still", she sauntered forwards, the Ravnican sitting up slightly straighter as her hand alighted on his shoulder and she regarded him with a slightly softer look, "I didn't think it would be but it was good to talk. So, thanks for the invite, thanks for the warning and, there was one other thing... ah, that was it – thanks for dinner!"

She was gone before Jace could catch her, cackling over her shoulder and chalking up the first blow in this campaign as the mind-mages' bellow was music to her ears,

"Mare!" Recovering his poise as he watched the fire caster disappearing into the crowd Jace quelled the sudden interest from the other tables with a scowl before beckoning the lurking figure over with a sigh, "I'll take the bill. What was your name boy?"

"Munz, sirriah."

"No need to call me sirriah; tell me Munz, what does what just happened tell you about the fairer sex?"

"Uhh", the boy thought as he put down the small plate on the edge of the table, venturing his opinion as Jace made to pick it up, "they're uh, or some of them, they don't play fair?"

"Very true; so, a word to the wise", Jace held up a finger, a flicker of mana glowing at the tip as he smirked, remembering the spell he'd woven just as the Regathan bolted past, "always have a back-up plan on your mind when dealing with one!"

Later that night, as Jace weighed his lighter coin pouch and Chandra nursed her fingers after the drawstring of hers had snapped tight around them and then coiled to spell 'you're welcome' when she finally pulled them free, the two planeswalkers reviewed their contracts, thought mischievous thoughts and, slowly but surely, drew up their plans against each other.

XXX

A/N: Slightly longer chapter to flesh out the world but the stage is set – who will triumph and who will be a fool in this fight, and what will the Guildmeet think of it all if they find out? Planeswalkers are prideful people; to what depths will Jace or Chandra sink to see their rival wear the dunces' cap?

Bonus points for anyone who can guess what Scrapings is in real life (I happen to love the stuff!) and let me know if you enjoyed the whole scene – I know this isn't a traditional MtG fic with spells, summons and fists flying but I'm trying something a little different; please let me know if you're enjoying it! And, here's a custom-card for you casual players to have fun with:

Planeswalkers' Parley; Legendary Enchantment; 1WRGUB; At the beginning of your upkeep, if you control a planeswalker permanent of each colour, you win the game. _"That went well. Jund for the next one?" Ajani Goldmane, after the parley of five on Llorwyn._

Until next time, game on!


	4. Chapter 4 - The Opening Gambits

Chapter 4 – The Opening Gambits.

Failing to prepare is preparing to fail.

It wasn't a saying most who knew her would ascribe to Chandra Nalaar but as she paced slowly about her rented room she repeated it in her head like a mantra, pausing only to direct the occasional glare at her now-innocuous money pouch. With her copy of the duelling agreement tucked away where no sticky fingers would find it, little Klo sometimes letting himself into her room if he could hear her inside, the fire-mage was mulling over the day and the contest she was now embroiled in. Part of her was still shocked Jace had agreed; she'd guessed the only place he found humour was in a dictionary; but agree he had and the secret just above her head was now a sore temptation, smouldering like a coal in the back of mind. With an effort she banked her curiosity, looking away from the concealed parchment and returning to the matter at hand – there would be time to think of that when she was gloating over her beaten opponent.

Planning was everything and preparation was key.

The thought centred her mind and she breathed slowly, in and out, a technique once used to quiet nightmares put to better purpose as she recalled a brighter part of her past. Keral Keep was a bastion of learning as much as defence but having grown up there since surviving her first steps through the Blind Eternities Chandra knew those within were as much a family as they were students of their craft. Like all families there were as many harsh words as there were kind embraces, as many tears of rage as there were of laughter. Following her arrival and as her control over the fire within grew, Chandra had grown to consider herself untouchable in the duelling circle, even some of the true monks undone by her instinctive flare with the volatile power. However, crowing from such precipitous heights had preceded a spectacular fall.

First none of the other students would answer her demands for duelling, then few of them would even talk to her and from there it swiftly degenerated into the young pyromancer being blindsided, bludgeoned and brought low by every trick in the book. From sand in her shoes to the infamous warm-hands the last Nalaar had been given no respite and could do nothing about it; anger was futile when there was no-one to lash out at. Challenges to settle grudges in the circle were met with sniggering and her tormentors running away and fighting outside proscribed areas earned naught but chores for instigating; eventually desperation had driven her to the woman who would later become abbess of the monastery. It had been there, choking out the misery she was living through while trying to deny sobs, one of many lessons Mother Luti had spent years beating through her iron skull finally sank in – no-one likes a boaster.

Chandra was skilled yes, prodigious even, but treating her peers as though they were unworthy of notice save as kindling fostered only resentment and there was more than one way for them to skin a lizard. For once the firebrand had listened and afterwards sought out the ring-leader of her tormentors; when she finally managed to corner him alone and saw him close his eyes against the forthcoming singeing the apology came a lot more easily than she'd expected. The older boy, Narthal, long since left the Keep as a young man to raise a family of his own and returning only to defend it when the Order had come for them all, had taught her much about things unrelated to fire, the first and foremost being the lesson that would be the downfall of Jace Beleren.

Proper prior planning and preparation prevent a piss-poor prank!

Narthal's eight P's, honed over years growing up in the fractious family of the Keep, had Chandra sit upon her bed with eyes closed; the darkness always helped her concentrate as she seldom wrote things down. She was set now, locked in combat with the Ravnican now as surely as they had been on Regatha, only with less pyrotechnics and amnesia this time around – so before the battle began she first had to know who she was up against. What where Jaces' strengths and vulnerabilities, the avenues could she attack while keeping her own hidden? With this in mind she flopped backwards, luxuriating on her freshly-made bed as she stretched and opened her eyes, scrying the ceiling as though the answers were etched there as she thought back through all she knew of her opponent.

The good points were immediately obvious; bereft of mana Jace couldn't read or attack her mind directly any more than she could light him up and most of his illusions were off-limits as well. However at the same time she was in the dark as to exactly what he knew about her and that was a problem; what had happened at the Guildmeet was one thing but there were other secrets she held far deeper and if Jace knew or even suspected them she was in a tight bind, or was she? A great shadow swept over her thoughts and she shuddered, the image of the terrible dragon slow to fade until a sudden realisation struck her – whether he'd meant to or not, Jace had possibly saved her life with his warning and he had given it freely, not something many would do for a former enemy.

Putting her scheming to the side for a moment the pyromancer considered this alongside all else the mind-bender had said earlier, a small, begrudging smile breaking through her frown as a weight was lifted off her shoulders. A liar he likely was but Jace had in a roundabout way said that he didn't hate her and that much she believed and, much as she'd not admit it, she didn't truly despise him either. It would have been as easy for him to leave her to die in the heart of the Eye as it would have been for her to let the falling rocks have him in the aftermath, so while there was no love lost between them there was no loathing either and, between planeswalkers, that was no small thing. Still, given their new conflict gratitude was swiftly shoved aside in favour of seeking an edge; it was pointless to focus on what Jace might or might not know, she'd just have to shore up and prepare for his moves as best she could. On the other hand though; her smile lengthened as she rubbed her hands together gleefully; from what he'd said just before she'd bolted, she had one definite advantage to abuse until the one who'd given it to her cried for his mother.

She had several ideas, though all would need fine-tuning before she even thought about putting them into practise – however she was reasonably confident that with a nights' scheming she'd have a workable plan and by tomorrow morning she'd also have a good idea exactly what she had to work with. Playing things close to her chest wasn't her usual style but Chandra knew she was skating on thin ice with her Izzet friend given what had happened just a few days ago, though it felt like a long time had passed since she'd seen the blue speck beneath her smothered in red. As long as she was careful she should be able to finagle a few choice supplies out of the Guild and pass it off as work-related, though she'd have to careful neither Dorlunn nor her children found them. The latter because they might be dangerous and the former for the grudge the firebrand was sure she nursed against the Izzet, though Chandra had yet to pluck up the courage to ask exactly what fate had befallen Raliz to turn his wife so bitter.

With the soft blanket under her Chandra let her eyes drift close as her imagination whirled, the red mage smirking as she saw her opponent broken in a hundred different ways, driven to his knees pleading for clemency as she teasingly rolled the folded parchment down to reveal the secret he had foolishly wagered. She chuckled as she shaved slivers from her ideas, pruning here and trimming there, working out times and likely obstacles until a knock at the door intruded on her thoughts,

"Come in", she called, shuffling backwards until she was seeing the door creak open perpendicularly, her smile upside-down as Jara froze in the doorway,

"Uh, what you doing?"

"Hanging around", the girl snickered as Chandra rolled over, hair spilling over her face until Jara came forwards and brushed it back behind her neck. Like a lot of children the pyromaster had met, several men too for that matter, Jara seemed fascinated by her tresses, though having said that auburn seemed even less common on Ravnica than it was on other planes. Added to that most of the metropolis denizens, especially the Izzet, kept their hair short to avoid mishaps in the lab so she couldn't blame the girl for being curious, though that didn't stop her gently bulling the child with her forehead before Jara could step back, making the youngster snicker,

"Dinner be a bit later tonight..."

"No", Chandra cut in dramatically, burying her face in the blanket and muffling the rest of her lament, "I'm starving; how could your mother be so cruel?"

"She with old Hezipi over the Common, be back before dark", the dusty blonde went on, Chandra having to bite back a chuckle as she realised just how much the girl was going to take after Dorlunn when she grew up, "so you have to tighten your belt unless you want to cook."

"Me? No hope, I get lumps in boiling water", the firebrand confessed, stretching off before coming to her hands and knees and glancing down at the girl, "dare I ask where your brothers are?"

"Uh, not sure".

"Up to no good most likely", the pyromancer mused before winking at the girl conspiratorially, "good for them".

"You shouldn't back th-ahh!"

"I'm sorry", Chandra's smile was wicked as she pounced, hefting the girl up by her waist and balancing her over one shoulder as she stood up, Jara's yells of panicked outrage soon giving way to laughter as the firebrand dug fingers into her sides, keeping a tight grip on her now-squirming prisoner, "were you trying to tell me what to do?"

"No, no!"

"You sure?"

"Yehehesss!"

"Good", sinking to a knee the planeswalker set the middle Ruz child on her feet, Jara's face flushed by exhilaration and ire as she glared at her family's lodger until Chandras' charismatic smile ate through her resistance, "live free and let others do the same, that's my way. Come on, let's find the other two and get them ready for when your mother gets back".

Chandra found the pair soon enough, helping them wash up and dining with her landlords after their mother returned before going to bed not long after sending the boys off to slumber; regardless how much Dorun said he was too old for stories the pyromancer had a few he hadn't heard before, enough to settle him at any rate. Folding up her clothing and turning her mail inside-out to let it air she cast a last glance at her coin pouch, recalling the struggle she'd had to extricate the fingers it had tried to swallow and then being left open-mouthed as the drawstring danced to spell out its infuriating message. She hadn't even felt the mind-mage draw on any mana but even so it was all information she could use; Jace wasn't powerful exactly, not like she was at any rate, but his magic was no less dangerous for being subtle. She would need eyes in the back of her head to get one over on the Ravnican but, come tomorrow or the day after, she would be the one to open hostilities and land the first blow in this unusual war.

Fortunately Buuthe was so hell-bent on discovering other colours of Niv-dust to get her name on she waved away Chandras' innocuous requests the next day with barely a look, swallowing her friends' explanations that the things she was taking were for repair and mouse-proofing. Like most of Ravnica mice were part of life in the Ruz household; there was seldom a day undisturbed by the characteristic ping of a trap snapping on an unwary snout and the forthcoming argument amongst the children about whose turn it was to dispose of the body. They'd never bothered Chandra at all; they were just trying to live as everyone else was; but the excuse worked, letting her get her hands on the items she needed. From there, having worked into the night to ensure she could afford a day off, the fire mage took advantage of one of the universal rules of the Multiverse to ensure the information Jace had unwittingly given her could be put to best use – few people would raise an eyebrow at you being somewhere you shouldn't if you looked like you belonged there and knew who you were going to see.

Her ears were open as she sashayed through the Guildmeet as though she owned the place; apparently Lavinia was a big name in the Guildmeet, head of security if Chandra was to guess, though fortunately she was out of her office as she peeked around the door. Hardly daring to believe her luck the pyromancer quickly darted across the empty space to the rooms beyond, the missive she was carrying emblazoned with the mind-mages' name enough to get directions to his usual haunt. As the door hove into view the pyromancer couldn't help but smirk, weapon already in hand as she beheld the prize and chalked up a forthcoming victory, all thanks to her opponents' loose tongue.

She had known Jace's place of employment since before the swine had tort- well, torture was perhaps the wrong word – was tormented better? Either way, after that their meeting had told him when he worked; from there it was just a case of blending in until she was close enough to strike. And strike, Chandra thought vindictively as she scurried away from the scene of the crime, shutting the window she'd slipped out of to avoid leaving an obvious escape route, she most assuredly had, all thanks to Jace himself.

Preparation was key and planning was everything, but when your opponent all but rolled out the red carpet for you... well, refusing would have been downright rude!

XXX

As she was keen to impress on the young and often stupid neonates she found herself lumbered with teaching when the time came to pay her Guild dues, sharp senses would keep an arrestor out of more trouble than every rule in the book. Those who knew her called Lavinia of the Tenth many things, a few of them even complimentary, but none would have denied she had senses a watch-thrull would have been jealous of and it was those senses, as she let herself into her office and shucked off her robe, that let her hear the muffled thump from ahead. Instinct took over, the weight of her cosh a comfort in her fist as she cautiously sidled down the darkened passageway to the Guildpacts' office, sticking to the shadows and moving slowly until her vision adjusted to the gloom. Fear, nervousness and excitement pulsed in her veins and she quickly quashed them; if there was a threat down here acting rashly would do her little good. The corridor stretched on, kinked by design to disorientate those who weren't familiar with the layout and a swift glance around the corner let her see all she needed to; with a silent sigh somewhere between relief and disappointment she reholstered her weapon and stepped into the light,

"Good morning Guildpact".

It was a petty grudge perhaps but Lavinia could never quite forgive the other Ravnican for having a better reputation for work within the Guildmeet than she did. Though Jace was the overall authority for the plane and therefore an honorary member of each Guild (a title, she reminded herself, never before bestowed) he was in effect still Guildless and therefore exempt from the burdens of tithes the rest of the Council had to pay. This freedom from the usual backlog of paper that seemed to breed within the Azorius guildhalls was the reason he beat her to the Guildmeet four days out of seven, a fact that Ral continually needled her with given she was supposedly the Guildpacts' bodyguard when none of the rest of the council were available. Still she learned to let such annoyances go, most of them, and faced the blue-cloaked man as Jace looked up at her greeting and smiled,

"Ah, Lavinia, good morning", his voice was almost normal but the slight frustration it contained coupled with his flushed face and the irked edge of his grin had the arrestor smelling a rat, "all quiet in your Guild?"

"Quiet as it ever gets", she stepped forwards a few paces, inwardly curious as the mind-mage shied away, the door to his office swaying slightly as he pulled it open, "everything all right with you?"

"Of course", she'd give him points for trying but he was years too young to bluff an arrestor who'd been on the streets half a decade, "why wouldn't it be?"

"The fact you're not at your desk despite being in the building over fifteen minutes and don't say you were going for coffee", Jace's defence was shot down before it could get off the ground, "it's far too early for your first cup".

"How did you know how long I've been here?"

"I check the signing-in book every morning and don't change the subject", not exactly easy-going at the best of times, in pursuit of a goal Lavinia let no prey escape, "why are you out here rather than in there?"

"I've gotten rather attached to my office door".

"Really? What brought on this sudden affection?"

"There's glue all over the handle. Don't laugh", once she overcame her shock Lavinia had to turn her back to comply with the Guildpacts' decree, "I've been stuck here over ten minutes, the bloody stuff's water-fast!"

"I, see", it was a testament to the arrestors' will she wasn't howling with mirth as she turned back around and regarded the now rouge-cheeked man, "so, seeing as this is now a crime scene and you're the main witness do you have any idea how the glue got there?"

"You know I do; listen", Jace knew, had know from the second he felt something squish under his palm, that he wasn't getting out of this without at least one torturous explanation, "help me out and I'll explain the whole thing".

"You'd best", the arrestor managed, turning on her heel and striding away, "I'll find a brush and bucket".

Fortunately the problem was rectified with only minimal loss of skin and it was Jace's non-writing hand that had been affected, not that it helped him feel any less of a remorseful tearaway as his explanation drew to a close. Lavinia locked gazes with him for a moment before like the knell of doom the armoured woman spoke, taking a seat on the corner of his desk,

"Let me get this straight", she sounded like she was trying to wrap her mind around what he'd told her and, truth be told, Jace didn't blame her, "not only did you meet someone who has proven ill-intent against you, you then proceeded to eat at a public restaurant without a suitable guard and then get embroiled in a game of fools with this Nalaar woman – did I miss anything?"

"Uh, apart from the fact it's a game of fools and secrets, no", Lavinia groaned, slumping forwards with her face in her hands, hoping to disguise the fact she was a hairsbreadth from hysteria,

"Dare I ask what secret you wagered?"

"Nothing important", either Jace couldn't head the mirth bubbling in her voice or was pretending he couldn't, though it was a long time before she could look down at both the mind-mage and his raw left hand, several layers of it left on his door handle, "have to admit I didn't think she'd be this fast off the mark though. No", he cut off the forthcoming question, "don't up security – part of our deal was we could only use either friends or those we could pay or bribe to help, and even besides that it'd look too suspicious".

"So Nalaar has a clear run for over half the week then", Lavinia pointed out, snickering before forcing her face straight under Jace's sardonic glare, "I'll keep my eye out but this is your affair – unless she threatens harm to the Guildmeet or you I'll just do my job. Why though Jace", the planeswalker looked up from flexing his stinging hand as the former maze-runner for the Azorius dropped her mask slightly, speaking as a fellow human being rather than an arrestor, "I understand wanting to get your own back for the dye but a game of fools? You're hardly the type, and I assume the rest of the council don't know?"

"They shouldn't and I've no intention of telling them; for the love of the gods don't tell Ral, or Vorel or Mirko for that matter, I'd never hear the end of it", once Lavinia had nodded her agreement Jace sighed, likewise casting the weight of the office he bore aside somewhat to face his friend directly, "and if I'm honest 'Vinia I asked myself that question most of yesterday and all the day before. I have no idea; it's hardly my forte as you say; but at the same time it's about the only common ground Nalaar and I are ever likely to share."

"As bad as that?"

"Worse; what you saw at the Guildmeet was nothing compared to our first introduction", Jace would always recall the duel at Kerals' gates with a shudder; if his counter-spells had been just a fraction off he'd likely have been the one laid low that day and his fate might have been much different for better or, more likely, worse, "but I took that risk, as you put it, to try and clear the air between us. Things have changed since we last met, she needed to know that."

"I'd guessed you had poor history", Lavinia remarked dryly before carrying on, "so a game as opposed to a war then, though in this case there might be little difference".

"No permanent harm or property damage", Jace reminded her, looking to the pile of work sat on the corner of his desk like a paper monolith, "about the best I could have expected from the pyromaster". Lavinia snorted before slipping off the desk and standing to her full height,

"Pyromaster is it – you'll have to tell me how you met her some time Jace. Still it's your business, as long as it doesn't interfere with your main duties there's naught I can officially do, and anyway it's about time you had a hobby".

"A, what?" Jace, reaching for the first sheaf of parchment, froze, "This isn't..."

"Isn't it? You could win this game with a click of your fingers Guildpact, why don't you? A combination of honour, pride and fairness I'd wager – she challenged you, you want to beat her at her own game and if the chance comes to make her look an ass then so much the better".

"And I'm supposed to be the mind-reader?" Jace groused after a short pause, not able to disguise how unnervingly accurate the arrestor's suspicions were, "Remind me to never play cards when you're at the table."

"Unlike you I don't gamble; still it could have been worse – you could have taken up Guildmage Zareks' suggestions for something to do in your free time. At least this way I won't have to drag you out of every tavern, flop-house and brothel in the Tenth, or stop Guildmage Tandris from carving you up for trying to, how does he put it, blow the cobwebs out of her undergar..."

"Never going to happen", Jaces' tone was so vehement Lavinia had to look away, stomach juddering with unrealised laughter again as she found herself grudgingly agreeing with her Izzet counterpart; teasing the Guildpact was actually rather fun,

"I wouldn't be so sure; Emmara has no mean skill with a knife you know?"

"Really?" Jace was genuinely surprised, "When did she learn that?"

"No idea but it's not illegal as long as the blade's no longer than a finger-length, though it's unusual for one of the Selesnya to bear arms."

"She is their representative, they might have waived that issue given how much of a target she might be", the planeswalker reasoned before shrugging, "either way, much like this game I now have to plan for what Emmara does in her free time is of no concern to anyone else. I'd best get on with this back-log and it's not even until next month; thank the gods this bloody festival only comes once a year".

"You'll enjoy it when it's here; I'd best get to my desk. Call if you need anything, though I draw the line at a full-body scrub".

His glare would have frozen a lesser woman but merely bounced off Lavinia, who once more made it to a spare office before snickering heartily, recalling the fun she'd had trying to prise the Guildpact free of the trap he'd put his hand in and simultaneously altering her image of the red-haired woman she'd had to detain some weeks previously. She might be a mystery from his past Jace was unwilling to divulge and far too hasty with her flames for anyones' good but, on the other hand, anyone who could get one of the arrestor's mornings off to a start like that couldn't be all bad.

Just how good the Izzet woman was, however, was a point driven in only a few days later.

XXX

"Halt!"

Damn, and she'd almost made it as well; still, no-one was made an arrestor for sleeping on the job or for leniency in dealing with those who refused to heed the Azorius commands and thus Chandra span on her heel, arms up and document she was carrying clearly visible to the woman now on her feet across from her desk,

"I come in peace", the planeswalker declared, not able to disguise her grin as Lavinia's cool glare raked over her, "no, really, I'm here on behalf of the Izzet".

"On what grounds", the arrestor challenged, stepping into the centre of the room but denying her urge to reach for a prepared writ – thus far the other woman, a shade shorter but no less dangerous for that, had given her no reason to fear a threat, "you should have gone through your representative".

"First he's busy and second I'm not officially Izzet", that did make the arrestor pause, something Chandra was quick to capitalise on, "anyway it's nothing important, just a progress report for the Niv-dust project. I was heading this way, told Buuthe I'd drop it off direct – she's the lead for the project".

"So I recall", Lavinia replied slowly, weighing the woman up with a practised eye as she retrieved the paper she was offered and glanced over it; clearly the pyromaster, as Jace had called her, was no stranger to sneaking into places she had no right being. Only belated recognition of the swaying red hair had tipped the seated arrestor off as the stranger had strode past, the name emblazoned upon the official Guildmeet missive standing up easily to a cursory inspection. No wonder she'd managed to get this far before but, the arrestor swore to herself as she handed the Izzet report back, it would not happen again,

"I see, and Beleren is the representative for this project?"

"If the Beleren you're talking about's a scrawny little frazzer with a stupid haircut then yeah, that's him", the woman assured her, tucking the parchment back under her arm, "his office is this way right?"

"Yes; a second and I'll show you. Wouldn't want you to get lost or any accidents to happen would we?"

"Accidents, here; you've not been around the Izzet much have you?" The firebrand snorted, though her new-found respect for Azorius magic dissuaded her from sidling off as Lavinia went back to her desk for something; underestimating it before had led to an excruciating situation she was in no hurry to repeat,

"Listen it's no bother, I can just..." Chandra's attempts shrug off her escort were neutered by Lavinia's look and, knowing the game was up, she tried a different tack, "...how much do you know?"

"I know that whatever glue you used didn't yield easily", the Regathan tried to hide her look of triumph and failed miserably, hissing victoriously with a clenched fist and relieved to see some of the ice thaw from the other womans' visage as she went on, "half of Jaces' palm is probably still on that door-knob".

"A change from the one it's usually wrapped around", the fire mage quipped, Lavinia unable to hide a snort at her outrageous cheek, "though speaking of knobs is he in?"

"Afraid so; your word there'll be no fireworks?"

"Not unless he starts them; did he tell you the terms?"

"No permanent harm and no property damage", Lavinia filled in for her, gesturing the way forwards, "I know you know where he works, lead on and no funny business".

"Would I?"

Despite her misgivings it seemed the other woman was sticking to the rules she agreed with the ultimate arbiter of the plane; aside from stubbing her toe on one of the unusual corners they arrived at Jaces' door without incident. Lavinia knocked and was invited inside; as she stepped into the small room Chandra made sure to flash her brightest grin at the man behind his desk, inwardly exulting as the mind-mages' face fell. It seemed like most other such places she'd ever been, though a few things marked it out as unique to one with an interest in the esoteric; that dark, curving horn balanced atop of stack of paper for instance, no idea what that was or where it had come from, nor did it look like the blade leant against the back wall was purely ornamental. The sudden image of her opponent as a dashing swordsman almost made the fire-mage snort out loud before she smothered the urge, remembering what she was officially here for and ironing her expression flat as she strode towards the man now glowering up at her,

"Beleren", her tone was just the right side of polite, "report from the Niv-dust team".

"I see", he half-stood to take the document she offered, electricity all but cracking between them as she resisted for a half-second before letting go, the mind-mage returning to his seat without another word. As he skimmed the document Chandra shifted from foot to foot, reminded uncomfortably of the numerous times she'd been stood in a room very similar to this. Father Shrovi, the former abbot of Keral Keep, had worked up a few legendary rants in his time – even today, a shout of 'my office, now!' echoing through the fire fortress was enough to make those of a certain vintage cower in fear. She'd rather liked the older man but had little time to reminisce as movement from before her brought her back to the present; Jace had closed the report and was peering up at her, his face studiously neutral,

"Some interesting work but why did this not come through the proper channels?"

"It has; I'm not part of the Izzet officially if you remember?"

"I do remember", he didn't react to her hint of smugness, instead looking past her to the Azorius in her shadow, "remind me to put in a missive to the council; this isn't the first time someone's tried to slip through that loophole".

"Loophole?"

"Yes, a legal work-around to the law of the land", Jace wasn't shy about pouncing on his opponents' slip, "all the Guilds know they should put these reports in via their representative. Don't think too much of it, you're far from the first to act as a Guildless messenger, though I imagine in you were easier for them to con than their normal foot-pads". Chandra's eyes narrowed, the light behind them rising evilly as she faced the other planeswalker squarely,

"I volunteered Beleren; you know that thing people do to help out friends? Buuthe told me how long it takes you lot to get off your arses and get some work done if it goes through Zarek, if that's his name; I just sped up the process. Anyway that's my lot, job's done – oh", she winced as though seeing Jaces' left hand for the first time, no longer bandaged but still pink and raw, "that looks painful".

"You have no idea", the mind-mage glowered, moving the injured limb off the table before he started listening to the part of his mind whispering how much less painful that hand would be wrapped around the infuriating womans' neck,

"Well if you will keep reading those gutter-trash novels", the whisper swelled into a roar as he glared up at the now-grinning woman, "loosen your grip, it stops the friction."

"And you'd know? Get out of here", Jace growled, face pink as he saw Lavinia's shoulders shake, though at least the arrestor wouldn't let this story spread further than his office. Mercifully Chandra said no more, the Azorius right behind her and pulling the door to as Jace huffed in frustration, reminding himself he had time and plans to get even with the insufferable cow before his eyes fell on the report and he groaned, quickly reaching for a quill as he belatedly remembered something important that would deny his new nemesis a reason to return to the Guildmeet.

XXX

"That was, somewhere between impressive and obscene".

"Thank you, I do my best", Lavinia glanced at her companion side-long before chuckling despite herself, Chandra likewise beaming as she racked up another mental point in this duel, "not my fault he's repressed, and tight-fisted".

"Is it not?" The insinuation made her whip around as though lashed but Lavinia remained resolute, "He told me you were hardly ever friends; having seen that I believe it."

"He got that right, we weren't then and we're not now", the pyromancer said hotly, "and when I've broken him in thi... oh bugger. Hold up a heartbeat", Lavinia paused as the other woman dropped to a knee, fiddling with her high boot, "wrinkle in my leggings, chafes to hell".

"I know", memories of long patrols on long, rainy nights came to the arrestors' memory and she shook her head to clear them, missing the flash of quick hands from the kneeling woman before Chandra stood up and came alongside her again, "trust me I know".

"How so, and while we're on the subject that's what I was going to ask – what's an Azorius arrestor doing here? I assume it's something to do with security for the Guildpact?" Lavinia was saved from having to come up with an answer on the fly by a slam from further down the corridor, one followed immediately afterwards by Jace's disembodied voice chasing after them,

"Hold up; you need to take this receipt back to the Izzet, otherwise they can claim the repoooaaahhh...!"

Lavinia had no time to react, in fact she didn't even see what happened until it was too late. One second Jace had stormed around the corner, the next he was hurtling forwards in a flat-out dive, feet left behind and with no time to brace for impact. The wheezing gasp as the wind was driven out of him made the arrestor wince even as her companion had a far different reaction, hilarity lacing her tone as she stepped towards the prostrate, groaning man,

"Now Jace", her tone all but oozed supercilious superiority as she squatted to pluck the paper he'd been carrying away from his limp hand, "I know how much you like your natural place but please, not in public. You'll have plenty of time to grovel at the weekend, stop flinging yourself at my feet until then; it was cute at first but it's getting embarrassing."

She made to stand up before, on a whim, ruffling his hair with her free hand, tousling it beyond all recognition or style. Her grin was half the length of the Tenth District as she came back to Lavinia's side, the arrestor having just picked out the very thin wire now limp on the carpet and cursing herself for missing what the Guildpacts' opponent had done,

"Come on Lavinia, let's get out of here", the arrestor started as the Izzet-associated planeswalker strode past, Jace just about starting to pick himself up and glaring with all the venom his watering eyes could muster at the back striding away from him, "the company's dragging us both down".

Lavinia waited a heartbeat longer, just long enough to see Jaces' nod of dismissal as he made it to his knees, glaring at the tripwire the redhead had strung across the corridor first by kicking it into place on the way in, then securing it on the way out under the pretence of checking her shoes. It was cleverly done, very cleverly; as she listened to the other woman with half an ear and fought to keep her reactions bottled up the Azorius maze-runner waited until Chandra let herself out with a wave before breathing out slowly, trying to deny the urge to smile. Going by what she'd seen today the Guildpact had good reason to be under-confident in this struggle and, remembering his fantastic fall and subsequent crash Lavinia found herself wondering, just as she had when he ascended to his present position, if the aqua mage had perhaps bitten off a little more than he could chew.

XXX

It was lunchtime before she felt ready to face her ultimate authority without breaking into a helpless smile, something that would likely drive Jace into a deeper funk than he'd likely been in all morning. Sure enough he was sat slightly apart from the rest of the Guildmeet staff, most of whom were aware of his quirks even if none save her knew his true place within the hierarchy of the plane, barely even looking up as she sat opposite him and did her best to mask a smirk,

"You see why I loathe that woman now?"

Her best wasn't good enough and she snickered, Jaces' expression a curious amalgamation of understanding and betrayal as he focussed on his meal while she recovered and offered restitution,

"Forgive me Jace, I missed that", she admitted freely, the mind-mage waving off her apology before grinding his knuckles against his forehead,

"You couldn't have expected it, I certainly didn't, and this is what I'm up against?"

"I don't envy you", she chuckled, unwrapping her frugal lunch and picking at the still-moist bread, "so, any ideas?" It was Jaces' turn to chuckle

"How long have you known me? Of course I've got ideas, the first I'll finish off tonight, the next I'll need help with; is that meeting with the Hull Clade still pencilled in for next week?"

"Three days after the weekend".

"Good, I need to speak to Vorel and cross my fingers", the mind-mage said, half to himself before remembering his audience, "sorry 'Vinia, I shouldn't gripe. Forget that blood-headed nuisance for now, what else is on the agenda for today?"

Later that night, having gotten away from his office after only a half-hour delay due to a Rakdos carnival hosting a spontaneous performance and ignoring the necessary licensing requirements, Jace found himself comforted by the familiar rattle and hum of the delicate equipment around him. The small fires from the burners heated the small room in his modest townhouse as he watched his labour bear fruit and thought back over the past few days; it had been both better and worse than he'd expected. Chandra making the first move was all but a given, though he hadn't expected two such assaults in such quick succession and his hand was still sore from the glue trick, though having said that his pride was still recovering from the beating it had taken from both her insinuations and her conceit earlier in the day. Remembering that brought a scowl that the slowly-hardening compound before him couldn't quite erase, not yet; it would do that only when it was put to proper purpose and reminded the unbearable red mage that the Izzet weren't the only ones who could use science to their advantage.

It was a prank he'd played before in his youth and not dared since – even after so many years and given he was now, in effect, her superior, the tongue-lashing he'd gotten from his then-housemistress made him shiver even now. It was the first time he'd seen Emmara truly enraged and it wasn't something he'd willing see again, first of all because she was a trusted friend and secondly, if Lavinia was right, she could also take care of herself now. Making a mental note to enquire about the Selesnyan elf's new-found skill with a blade and reminding himself to practise his own meagre skills when he had a moment Jace then shook his head and reapplied himself to his labours, grinning at the compound took form under his delicate manipulations.

So, Chandra thought he had a natural place at her feet did she? Fine; by the time he was through her feet were going to be the least of her worries, he'd make sure of it!

XXX

"Are you even _in_ this game?"

It was a question that had nagged at her for the past few days; ever since she'd left him sprawled on his workplace floor Chandra had been anticipating retaliation, the mingled nerves and excitement a perfect storm. She'd had her guard high, her eyes open for the merest hint of something coming only to be met with nothing and for some reason that pissed her off worse than if she'd been had. A trick, any kind of trick, would have shown he was trying, a 'still-thinking-of-you-and-hating-your-guts' sort of affair; that he'd not bothered was another bone of contention she was forced to worry and, as she slammed herself into the seat opposite him and snatched the paper he was reading out of his hands, it was one she was going to break at the _Watered Weird_ here and now.

And if for that to happen she had to bludgeon Jace Beleren over the head with it until his brain started leaking out of his ears, so be it.

"A week; hells I even gave you the last few days off because I felt sorry for a novice, and nothing?" She folded her arms, unimpressed and not shy in showing it as the mind-mage regarded her owlishly, "Either you're worse than even I thought or you really do have no imagination".

"Or I could be planning my moves in advance and not want to tip my hand too early", the other spellcaster riposted, hand open for the parchment she'd stolen, "and it's not just that, we've been completely snowed under this week. I've had little time to do more than eat and sleep – our game, unfortunately, had to go to the back of the line. Now pass that back", the fire mage glanced at the now-crumpled parchment she'd taken from him as she did so, starting slightly as she recognised the context of the request,

"The Guildpact Festival – I've heard of that".

"Shush", Jace was suddenly very grateful for both his forethought and the fact the _Watered Weird_ was a little off the beaten track as he spoke in a hurried whisper, "you're supposed to be Ravnican remember – everyone on this plane knows about the festival". Chandra's expression dropped as she belatedly realised her mistake,

"Sorry", contrary to popular belief she did apologise occasionally, "I've never been to one, just heard of it. When is it this year?"

"The million zilto question; asking it in the Guildhall right now would probably cause an outbreak of hives", Jace said heavily, Chandra hastily smothering a laugh at his hang-dog expression, "it changes every year; some anniversary of an Orzhov saint clashing with the Selesnya solstice; there's always something that shunts the date around. I'll be damned glad when it's over the amount of headaches it's giving us all".

"Sounds like home", Chandra muttered with feeling; the problem with espousing a creed of freedom was that organising those who followed it was like herding cats, one of many reasons she felt both awed by and sorry for Mother Luti, "are the Guilds really that much of an issue? And while we're on the subject how did you come into this job of yours and, apart from hug the carpet whenever I walk past, what do you actually do in the Guildmeet?"

"As little as I can get away with", Chandra goggled, taken completely aback before recollecting her scattered wits – the idea Jace might actually joke was still somewhat alien, though mercifully he didn't follow up his successful verbal jab, "but seriously, the answer to your questions is yes the Guilds are that much of an issue and my role is to try and make them less of an issue".

"That, really doesn't make sense".

"Of course it doesn't", Jace sighed, reaching for the complimentary water, "long story short since the new Guildpact was signed it was decided a core, if you like, of people with no affiliation to the Gates would be placed within the structure of the Guilds. No official power you understand", that was being a little creative with the truth but as a whole it stood up; Jace could wield no official clout from his station unless he wanted his identity as the Guildpact revealed and he had more than enough on his plate already, "we simply help, ah, grease the wheels if you like. We arrange meetings between representatives, prepare missives for the Council, work with the Guilds as I have with your current Izzet team, trying to get the wheels of government turning more quickly. Since we're Guildless we can't be accused of holding bias, something that plagued the last Pact supposedly; the most high-ranking of us even help debate the meaning of the Pact itself".

"Normally I'd say 'so what' but having seen how this whole plane is kept together by that piece of paper I'm going to assume it's a big deal?"

"Considering the last time it happened under the old Pact the Gruul flattened half the Eighth District before someone spotted the mistranslation you could say that", Jace put in, mind made up about his order and hoping to distract the pyromancer from the snare she'd put her metaphorical foot in, "still, nothing to do with me. I'm a mediator mostly, and you saw the reason I got the job earlier". This leap of logic left the firebrand bamboozled,

"Huh? When?"

"She let you in to my office".

"What, the Azorius? La... Oh what was her name, Lavina, something like that, _she_ nailed you to that chair?"

"Her name's Lavinia and, almost", Jace admitted, mulling over how much to give away – even if he currently had the fire mage where he wanted her there was no point giving her anything she could use, "remember last week, I said about the friends I had?"

"When did, no, no I remember, you mentioned her then – she was one of the people who helped you put roots down here?"

"In a manner of speaking, though if she's had her way those roots would have been a bit more permanent than I'd have liked".

"How?" Chandra asked before a sudden answer burst in front of her eyes and she stiffened, "You, you weren't, she wasn't, uh, planning to...?"

"What, Lavinia; oh no, no chance", the thought made Jace feel strangely disjointed; though he saw the Azorius far more than all the other former Runners he had never been able to see her as anything other than Lavinia of the Tenth – hell he couldn't even give her a nickname like Tajic, Ruric or Ral had. It was the same sort of relationship he had with Emmara without the age difference; far from just business, but strictly platonic outside of it, "she arrested me".

There was a heartbeat of perfect silence before it was broken by a rampaging snort, Chandra stuffing her fist against her lip as she shivered with hilarity, unable to speak for several seconds before she finally recovered enough to look over at him,

"You were arrested", her voice was choked with mirth, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, _you_ were arrested?!"

"They can always pin something on you", Jace riposted, the universal truth of the city of Guilds forcing Chandra to look away sniggering, "there was a fire at somewhere registered to me when I was away; as the proprietor I was hauled in. Nothing too serious, failing to adhere to proper fire regulations - it would have been a few weeks community service but for a little luck on my part. I managed to talk to my arrestor; no prizes for guessing who she was; and while the writs were being drawn up she told me of a few other cases on the Azorius books. We got talking and I let her in a little – eventually she found out I was a caster and put my talent to good use on a few occasions, though not too often as this was when the new Pact was being drawn up. When everything settled down Lavinia found me again, told me of the Guildmeet – it seemed to be tailor-made for me. I settled in, barely have to use mana unless I suspect something untoward but that's only happened a handful of times since the 'hall's been running – been there six months and nothing's blown up or tried to pick my brain apart yet so I'm counting it as a plus, then you blundered onto the scene and starting raising hell".

"I do my best", Chandra revelled in her notoriety, still smirking at the thought of the mind-mage behind bars, "I'd have killed to have been there when they came banging on your door, I'm surprised you didn't run for it".

"I had no reason to, didn't even know there'd been a fire until they told me", Jace shrugged before glancing at her suspiciously, "nothing to do with you I assume?"

"Hah, six months ago I was trying to turn Ramaz to soot, you weren't even an afterthought. Though having said that", the humour bled from her face as the pyromancer leant over the table, humour replaced with a slow, deliberate ire, "you just reminded me I still owe you a caning".

"Dare I ask why? Still sore over Keral?"

"That too, but sorer about you ratting me out to the Sanctum afterwards".

"I, what?" It was Jaces' turn to be left without a clue, "ratted you where?"

"The Sanctum, you know, Kephalai?" She elaborated, pressing on as understanding dawned on the Ravnicans' face, "You told them my name and what I looked like didn't you?"

"They told me what you looked like, otherwise I'd never have found you", Jace answered, regarding her askew, "and by the time I returned there they already knew your name. I asked", he pre-empted the question he could see coming, "they said their investigations turned up where you'd been staying in the capital, your landlord told them from what I could glean. How did he... you didn't use a false name did you?"

That sudden, belated realisation ensured it was Chandra's turn to take a lash to her pride; Jace's humour might have been more restrained than her own but that didn't make it cut any less deeper,

"No alibis, no false trails and no escape routes other than 'run-like-hell-and-hope-for-the-best'; you really did just march in and take it didn't you? I'm amazed they even needed me in the first place; that you actually got away must have been a miracle".

"I was going for surprise", the firebrand muttered before going back on the front foot, "and I got away with it just fine – if it hadn't been for you I'd never have been caught at all". Jace glanced up sharply at the proclamation,

"What did I do?"

"Oh I don't know, how about giving the Scroll back to the frazzing Sanctum", Chandra snapped, memories of the bowels of the Prelate palace swirling darkly in her memory, "getting out of there a second time damned near killed me".

"A second... you went back?!"

"Well done genius, give yourself a gold star".

"You _idiot_ ", a man with less self-control might have thumped his head off the table, "they knew your face, your name – was the Scroll really that important?"

"To me yes", Chandra shot back, anger simmering in her veins as she recalled the things she would have avoided if not for Jaces' meddling, "the copies the fire monks made weren't enough, the Scroll itself was the map to Zendikar so I needed the real thing. I got it in the end, though thanks to you I also got this".

Jace wasn't quite sure what to think as he watched the woman slip off her gauntlet – he was too busy wondering what kind of single-minded zeal she must have had to willingly step into the dragons' den a second time. He did, however, respect that whatever risks she'd taken she'd taken on her own – no-one else had been put at risk as far as he knew. As the Izzet hand-wear clunked onto the table Jace was actually surprised at how slight her hand was, though as she thrust it over the table he had no shame in leaning backwards in case it went directly for his nose,

"What am, oh", the vivid streak of white between her knuckles caught his eye, standing out starkly against her tanned skin, "what happened?"

"I got arrested", Chandra ground out, putting her glove back on, "and on Kephalai there's no nice cells like you had. I was thrown to the Enervants and was lucky I got away with just that".

"What in the hells is an Enervant?"

"Big snake that walks like a man; they drain the power out of mages they catch, expert torturers", ghostly pain pulsed up her fist at the memory but she squelched it with an effort – they were dead, she wasn't so all was well that ended well, "they would have executed me but I broke out with a bit of trickery and plenty of firepower".

"And some luck?" The firebrand shrugged ruefully, rubbing her knuckles before reaching for her gauntlet again,

"That too – you didn't know about them?"

"Kephalai wasn't my plane", Jace said shortly, not wanting to think about his time in the Infinite Consortium unless he had to, "I'd heard rumours of something under the Prelates' palace, never thought to look too closely. Enervants, torture, narrow escapes; things like that make me glad I gave it all up".

"Sure it wasn't your lack of backbone?" Chandra snickered, only for her humour to be extinguished by the look Jace sent her way. It wasn't scathing, nor disappointed; if anything it made him seem much older than he should have been, the kind of age you shut up and paid attention to as he drew in a breath to speak,

"Nowhere near; while I was here, after Zendikar, I discovered something, something I'd never thought about before when I was 'walking between worlds. Let me tell you a story Chandra, maybe you've heard it since you've been here but humour me anyway; it comes from the Izzet, oddly enough, two apprentices seeking to become a Guildmage. They were challenged by Niv-Mizzet to create a spell to impress him; the first created a ward that, once written over the course of several days, would ensure any who stood upon it would be teleported to the other side of Ravnica; it would protect any area it was laid to guard. The second came up with a spell that could be cast by any who could reach even the merest wisp of mana; it would do nothing more than create a small ball of light that would never go out unless the creator wished it to. It was harmless and responded to its creators' thoughts, the perfect light spell – guess who got the Guildmage post?"

"The uh", Chandra could likely guess, "the first one".

"Correct", Jace said heavily, "and had it not been for the second mage teaching his spell without his Guilds' permission most of Ravnica would likely still be in the dark. We don't even know his name; the Izzet drummed him out, struck him off their records and erased him from history. After Zendikar I heard this and several other stories like it, thought nothing of them until completely out of the blue I simply realised something, a common thread between them all; only destructive or flashy magic is ever remembered or appreciated".

"That's not true..."

"So if the Dragon Scroll had been a spell to cure boils you'd have risked your life for it as you did?" Jace countered mildly, stopping her potential argument dead, "Would it have been guarded so zealously by the Prelate if it wasn't so dangerous, and would the Sanctum have sought me out to recover it if it hadn't contained some spell of massive destruction – I don't think so. They say magic is dangerous but I've come to the conclusion that's not exactly true – it's what people do with magic that's dangerous. The first mage who pulled fire from the ground or wind from the sky and used them to burn or smother their fellow beings started a deadly precedent we're still following now. I don't want that, not anymore, and when I think about it I'm not sure I ever really did; all magic and the Spark have ever done is set me apart – I didn't even realise how alone I was until I tried to live normally".

Silence fell between them and in that silence Jace felt something erode within him, a heavy weight lightened a little as that pseudo-confession was lifted from his mind. It was strange, in a way, that he was making such a confession to a former enemy, but then again a friend would say what you wanted to hear, an enemy told you what you needed to know. He checked the menu idly, giving the other planeswalker privacy to digest what he'd just said, not concerned about being overheard thanks to a small, almost undetectable enchantment he'd woven as she sat down. It did nothing save make people less inclined to pay attention to them but that Chandra hadn't even noticed it simply proved in his eyes that even planeswalkers were only ever on guard for spells that could be a danger to them, everything else simply passed them by,

"You", he glanced up from his reading, the pyromancers' tone somewhere between contemplative and concerned as she regarded him piercingly, "you really have changed haven't you?"

"In some ways; I think they call it growing up", Jace mused, grateful to see his some of the frost thaw from the womans' expression, "a terrible affliction I'd hoped to put off as long as possible, but it got me in the end."

"I wouldn't know," Chandra stifled a smirk before grinning victoriously, "I'm going to be young forever".

"Good luck trying; take it from me the death-knell of your inner child comes when you sign the mortgage paperwork".

"Alas poor child – no wonder you're so lousy at this game", the firebrand declared, glancing at his now-healed hand, "manage to contain yourself for a few days did you?"

"Just about; satisfying as throttling you would be there's no chance you're getting out of this game with your secret intact. I take it you're not here to surrender?"

"No I'm here for the food; uh, speaking of which", Chandra managed a half-guilty, half-wheedling tone, "rent's due today; could you cover the food if I get the drinks?"

"Depends; are we down to dishwater on your salary?"

"Not quite, that comes tonight", the firebrand told him, feeling her last few coins clink disconsolately in her pouch, "I might be able to stretch to spiced wine".

"That I can live with..."

It was a little over a half-hour later, Jace having silently banished his spell and let Munz see them waiting for service, that both planeswalkers sat back, bellies filled and a little more of the past filled in, Jace in particular tapping his fingers together as he ruminated on Chandras' recollection of some of the planes she had chased Ramaz through,

"I can't say I've ever heard of a place such as that, though if Ramaz is a shaman as you guess it would make sense for him to flee there. The creatures you're describing sound like a race of beasts called dinosaurs but more than that I don't know".

"Be grateful if you never find out, and if you end up there get out as soon as you can", Chandra warned him, having to fight the urge to scratch at the memory, "the flies in that swampy mess bit me to ribbons".

"And you wonder why I stay here?" She had to admit he had her there, shrugging to deflect the question before her attention snapped onto his next words, "So just to make it official, you're not yielding?"

"Not a chance; why would I when I'm in the ascendancy?"

"For now; the first of my pieces are in place Chandra – last chance to back out without shame?"

"I'm shaking in my boots", she replied dryly, placing her small goblet down and reaching for the necessary money, "and for all your talk of me not planning which of us snuck into and then escaped a fortress, or a Guildmeet, twice? You think I've even started Jace, this is just the beginning".

"You took the words right out of my mouth – very well then", Jace drained the last of his drink and tapped it down on the table, throwing a few coin onto the table, "the same time next week?"

"Looks that way – same place?"

"Yes, I'm getting quite partial to the _Watered Weird_ ", the aqua mage admitted, glancing up at the small, somewhat shabby tavern with a measure of fondness, "very well then", he came to his feet, Chandra mirroring his actions and not backing down an inch as he smiled challengingly, "good luck for the next wave Miss Nalaar, and for what it's worth", he glanced at her hand, expression sobering, "I can't change the past but I can, and do, regret a lot of it".

She didn't say anything for a few seconds the old wound ached; it lasted only a few heartbeats though, the pain of history faded under the challenge of the present as she smirked up at him, Jace being about half a head taller than her,

"And when it's appropriate I do too", with a playful smirk on her lips she span on her heel and strode away, waving over her shoulder as she tossed out a last, careless comment, "same time next week, tight-fist".

She could all but feel the sudden interest generated behind her, other eyes drawn towards her former dining partner like a swarm of bees to honey. Inwardly cheering still another victory against the man now caught in a storm of disapproval Chandra was unaware of the sudden smirk that crossed Jaces' lips as his eyes lingered on her retreating form; only when she was out of sight did he politely excuse himself and leave the establishment.

After all, though he might have virtually renounced magic, surely it was only right for a craftsman to admire his art.

XXX

If the slam of the door hadn't told her who'd come in, the language that followed the resounding bang soon did,

"Mind the cursing Chandra", as she stepped out of the kitchen with her long broom balanced against her shoulder Dorlunn watched her lodger tapping off her boots, her expression disgruntled as she glanced up at the landlady,

"You would not believe the trip I've just had", the firebrand exclaimed, pushing her hair irritably back to its regular place now she was in a reasonably calm oasis as opposed to the turbulence she'd had to ford through outside,

"Probably not if you don't tell me about it; where have you been?"

"Had to visit someone", Chandra's reply was non-committal, her attention focussed on the walk she'd endured back to the Ruz household. Well-used to travelling alone the firebrand had developed a sense for when she was being watched by those with less than wholesome intent and for the past hour or so it had been chiming all but non-stop. Several times she'd spun on her heel to spot several people hastily averting their eyes; in younger days she might well have called them out on it but right here and right now she had too little time and money to risk the attention of some over-zealous enforcer. Luckily now she was safe and free to plot further misery on the man she'd already landed two heavy blows on and a few ideas were already swirling around in her mind as she unbuckled her boots before a sudden gasp made her look around. For a split-second she was shocked by Dorlunn's thunderstruck expression, then her heart suddenly contracted as she realised what, or more accurately _where_ , the older woman was looking.

He hadn't...

She _couldn't_ have fallen for...

Spine frozen with dread Chandra slowly stood to her full height and with infinite care looked over her shoulder and down. She saw nothing but the relief was short-lived; her face exploded magenta as her fingers brushed something cold and soft, lower than she'd anticipated; it was worse than she'd feared. It came away slowly, peeling off the lower regions of her tunic with a faint ripping noise, Chandra silently incanting every hex and plague she knew on her opponent and his immediate ancestry as she tugged off whatever she'd sat on and, reluctantly, looked at it.

For a second she was confused, then the circle of beige-coloured material bisected by a single black line crinkled in the firebrands' fists as she understood and mortification rushed through every pore in her body. She could even picture him setting the trap, arriving before her and moving all the other chairs away, ensuring she sat right on top of it. No wonder people had been staring; even the Rakdos didn't usually walk around all but bare-arsed – the crude mock-up wouldn't have stood up to close scrutiny but it hadn't needed to; people wouldn't stare out of politeness. A sudden fear made her blood congeal – if any of the Izzet had seen her walk home...

"What, by Niv-Mizzet's danglies, isthat and why were you wearing it?" Dorlunns' voice was faint with disbelief and hilarity, both of which enthusiastically joined in pummelling of the pyromancers' pride, Chandra so choked with shame she couldn't reply. Crushing the strange material into as tight a ball as she could manage she strode up the stairs past her flabbergasted landlady, reaching her room and slamming the door behind her as she threw herself onto the bed, muffling her scream of outrage with the pillow.

She lay face-down for quite some time, limp in her sanctuary until, eventually, her wrath and humiliation subsided and, despite herself, she started to laugh, the noise still muffled by the now-messed up blankets and pillows. When she was finally calm enough to think rationally again she half-rolled over, bringing the offending material in front of her face to try and see exactly what it was. Ignoring the faint spike of embarrassment at the thought of what half the city must have seen, or thought they'd seen, the firebrand mulled the whole thing over and silently reappraised her opponent; she'd misjudged him, badly. She had no idea what this false rear end was made from but Jace had evidently gone to a lot of trouble to either make it or have it made (and, going by the faint alchemical tang she could smell on it, she considered the former more likely) and had planned well in advance to pin her with it so well. Chandra couldn't remember the last time she'd been caught out with a sign on her back but it hadn't been for years, so much so that despite herself she couldn't help but respect her rival for avenging his hand so well.

Still, cunning trick or not, such an insult couldn't go unanswered. Sitting up and throwing the offending object into the corner of the room the firebrand focussed for a moment, the explanation she'd had in her mind for a little while coming to the fore as she looked to advance her offensive to the next stage – the first moves were over, the serious games were about to begin.

Time to mobilise the troops...

XXX

A/N: Oh dear, what friends does Chandra have waiting in the wings, and can Jace resist the temptation to bend the rules a little with his Guildpact powers? It's honours roughly even after Jaces' below-the-belt strike; how much lower can either of them go?

Card of the chapter:

Tripwire; Artefact; 1; Tap, sacrifice Tripwire: Tripwire deals 1 damage to target attacking creature and that creatures' controller. That creature deals no combat damage this turn. _Pride. Fall. Humiliation. I love it! – Chandra Nalaar._


	5. Chapter 5 - Along Came A

Chapter 5 – Along Came A...

A/N: Life sucks.

Not that's not a complaint or a gripe, it's a current truism in my life at least – I won't go into why but let's just say I'm glad I started this more humorous story alongside my other works as if I hadn't I'd likely have gone insane by now. Still, rant over; hope you all enjoy this offering and the escalation of the (prank) war of the planeswalkers – Chandra took the initiative with a lightning strike but was caught cold by a heavy counterpunch from her methodical opponent; it's controlled aggression against technical expertise and, hold on tight, it's about to get wild!

Enjoy!

XXX

She was first to admit she'd heard some strange requests in her time but this one blew them all out the water,

"You want to _borrow_ my children?"

"Only two of them", Chandra wheedled, trying her best to look agreeable as the aforementioned youngsters looked between the two women bamboozled, "and it's not for long".

"Pity", Dorlunn muttered, doing her best to stifle a slight smile, "dare I ask why?"

"Well they say an offering helps get you in with the Carnival... I'm joking", the firebrand admitted, smiling reassuringly at the collection of squeaks from around the table as Dorlunn dished up supper, "no, I just need some eyes on the street and these two would be perfect".

"Who are you looking out for?" There was a sudden cunning in the matron's eyes as her gaze dipped fractionally lower, "Was it to do with...?"

"Something about that", Chandra drowned her suspicions in volume before looking to the elder two of the Ruz children, "what do you say you pair – want to help Auntie Chandra out?" Jara immediately nodded but Dorun, as level-headed as his mother, regarded her askance,

"Help out with what?"

"Well", Chandra steeled herself for a delicate explanation, "someone I know played a little joke on me earlier", Dorlunn's shoulders shook but she mercifully contained her mirth, "and I've got to get even with him. I know he works at the Guildmeet but some of the staff there know what I look like; I need the two of you to just play around that area for a bit, find out where he goes after work, then I can get my own back on the frahh, the get!"

"From what I saw it wasn't your back he got." Dorlunn snickered under the firebrands' gimlet gaze, Chandra only grateful she didn't blush as the children swapped a glance and shared a silent conversation before Dorun leant on the table, facing her directly,

"How much?"

"How much", Chandra echoed, seemingly offended, "you want paying to do your favourite lodger a favour?"

"S'a long way to the Guildmeet", Jara chipped in, her elder brother nodding before making a point of his own,

"And you said you wanted to borrow us; we can't be free you know".

"A pair of mercenaries, just my luck", Chandra grumbled, defeated by their logic and holding up her hands, "all right you little gutter-grubbers find out what I want to know and there's a copper in it for you".

"Three coppers, each".

"Get raffled, that's over half what I earn in a day; one each and I'll tell you both a story tonight".

"Two each and stories when we want them, or when Jara wants them; I'm too old". Chandra gave an outraged chuckle as she turned to the eldest present, Dorlunn watching her son haggle with a proud expression of fondness,

"He could sell sand to the Orzhov this one; all right you little tight-fist last offer; one copper each, Jara can have a story any time she wants and", desperate times called for supreme sacrifices, "you can have my share of the afters today and tomorrow". The smell from the stove was heavenly but the memory of the shame Jace had heaped on her head (and other parts) forced her to discount the pleas of her stomach; surely there was no way...

"Afters for the next five days".

"Five?!" Chandra exploded, regarding him with horror, "That's extortion!"

"Only if you won't pay it, but we'll get what you want and that's a promise", Dorun looked defiant as he made that vow, his sister beside him nodding fervently and in the face of such earnest she didn't have the heart to say no,

"Oh, fine, fine; you'd better come through", she muttered darkly, smiling despite herself as the duo celebrated, little Klo also cheering as Dorlunn stood ready to serve the afters now forbidden to her, "and if you think either of you are getting a peep out of me tonight you're sorely mistaken!"

She wasn't quite that heartless, tucking Klo into bed and singing him and his brother a short lullaby while Dorlunn attended her daughter, though to her not-so-great surprise her temporary matron was waiting for her as she slid the door to the boys' room closed,

"What's going on then?"

"Nothing too serious; long story short I'm in a game of fools with the frazzer who stuck me earlier. We can only use those we pay, bribe or befriend, and given what Dorun's just had off me I'd say it was a combination of all three."

"Not Izzet business is it?" Chandra was tempted to either drag Dorlunn's antipathy of the Guild into the open or ask what business it was of hers but thought better of it; she had recruited her children after all,

"No he's Guildless, works at the Guildmeet like I said. He's got less to do with the Izzet than I have – if he were bound to anyone it'd be the Azors." Dorlunn regarded her for a moment before nodding and bidding her goodnight, the firebrand left to retreat to her room and plan for the next few days carefully; Jace might have stolen a march on her but there was no way she was going to let him stay ahead. To that end Chandra refused to let sleep claim her, forcing her eyes open and aided by prangs of humiliation as she stole glances at the fake backside Jace had pinned her with until, at length, the noises she'd been waiting for floated through her opened window. Carefully shutting it, the firebrand swiftly rummaged in her small bag for one of the items she'd filched from the Izzet, noiselessly creeping down the stairs with it to exit the Ruz dwelling, locking the door behind her. Breath frosting in the crisp, clear air the Regathan looked up at the stars and sky before hearing her prey and smirking, the glass in her hand ready for use as she stalked quietly onto the common behind the row of houses, memories of younger years in her mind as her eyes adapted to the gloom. She'd scored several victories with this trick in the past but, at the same time, several instances of running pell-mell from a pride of Regathan fire-breathers when hunts such as this went wrong had put her off the feline persuasion for life.

Still the ends justified the means and, as she spotted prey in a patch of moonlight, she'd soon have the means to avenge the end the insufferable mind-mage had insulted!

XXX

"You're looking suspiciously pleased with yourself."

"Whereas you're just looking suspicious," Jace countered easily, a hint of Lavinias' frost thawing as she deposited a stack of papers on his desk, "anything important, and what did you get up to at the weekend?"

"Not too much, nothing as exciting as you going by the look on your face", the arrestor riposted, deflecting his interest and hiding memories of her time off with well-practised ease, "would I be a thousand leagues from the truth guessing the pyromaster was involved?"

"You'd be a lot closer than that," Jace didn't bother concealing his smirk, the flash of peach once more in his minds' eye as he imagined his nemesis' reaction upon discovering it, "let's just say I made my first move, and come a few days I'll be making another. The Hull Clade meeting is still on isn't it?"

"Are you sure you're not abusing your powers Guildpact?"

"Would I? No, I mean that," Jace pressed over his friends' sardonic glance, "she got where she wanted using one of the Guilds and I'm doing the same, just better." Shaking her head the Azorius couldn't quite crush her smile,

"You're playing with fire Jace, quite literally given who you're up against."

"I can handle anything she throws at me."

"Barring dye," Lavinia reminded him, the mind-mage scowling as her rapier wit pricked the bubble of his ego, "still it's your business. Just be careful, both of you; last thing we need is another Guildmeet like two weeks ago Pinky." Jace's scowl deepened,

"Thanks for that," he muttered mutinously, cracking his knuckles in a way he knew made the arrestor cringe; _what is it they say about he who laughs last is usually your boss?_ ; "remind me to come up with something unpleasant for Zarek later."

"You can't," just as Jace looked up amazed at her defending one of the most constant thorns in her side Lavinia was forced to come clean, "it wasn't him that came up with it."

"Really? Who did?"

"I refuse to answer that question on the grounds I might incriminate myself." Jace goggled before drawing himself up in his seat, Lavinia easily rolling upright as a telekinetic force shoved her off the corner of his desk,

"Traitor – I should have you on the tea-run from now until the Festival."

"Giving co-workers nicknames isn't illegal – if it were I'd have Zarek locked up until the Obzedat died of old age with Tajic, Mirko and Teysa in the cells next to him."

"Good luck getting those charges to stick Sticky," only the slightest widening of her eyes let Jace see that shot told before the arrestor let herself out his office, the illusionist left with his thoughts and memories, ones that made him snicker as he once more saw the beige circle disappear in the crowd; oh to have been a fire-proof fly on the wall when Chandra realised it was there...

It was a memory that lightened the tedium of most of the reports set before him that day; luckily everything seemed to be settling down nicely, the Guilds not risking anything major this close to their solitary day of peace. About the worst of it was a little Gruul rabble-rousing on the outskirts of Boros territory, a fact of life for anyone who lived within twenty miles of the Rubblebelt or other wild areas of Ravnica. Still there were a fair few papers and he had to read each of them carefully; more than once had someone, usually the Dimir, tried to sneak through a codified message hidden in the text and, once signed, there was little he could do to rescind his decision without informing the Guildmeet, a process the ten former Maze Runners never failed to give him a ribbing for. _As if any of them would take my job if they had the choice... well, Lavinia might but she was born standing at attention_ ; that was a little unfair but, waving farewell to the Azorius as she stayed behind slightly to finish paperwork of her own, should anything happen to him Lavinia would be his preferred choice to assume his mantle if only because she had some idea how to decipher his deliberately-chaotic filing system.

The idea of the stern woman setting about his parchment-stuffed desk with quill, cosh and fire-thrower set him chuckling as he made to leave the all-but-deserted Guildmeet, the last light of the day waning as he casually cast his mind about outside. It was a gesture so reflexive he barely registered it but the feeling of a sudden spike of excitement somewhere ahead and to his left quickly focussed his mind. Disguising his reflexive look by miming a sneeze Jace slowly moved towards his home at the same time as carefully wend his psyche behind him, feathering a touch on the mind; no, minds, there were two of them; his precautionary sweep had alerted him to. Already running through half a dozen scenarios to remove these potential tails the mind-mage was tense, ready to react at any hint of aggression before relaxing; they weren't even trying to hide their glee at having seen him, their thoughts so loud and naked they must have been children. There was no threat; from what he could glean they'd been waiting for him for some reason and recognised his characteristic cloak, though why a pair of...

... oh, that explained it.

 _She's branched out a little_ ; though a lot less prideful than he'd once been Jace was a sufficiently powerful telepath to carefully follow the vision he'd seen in one of the small minds he was reading while navigating the streets of Ravnica slowly, learning as much about the duo as they were about him. It appeared Chandra had taken their terms seriously indeed, not afraid to gain an edge by taking a hit to her pride; _or her appetite – bribing children with pudding indeed_ ; seeing the firebrands' phantom face fall through different eyes made him snicker as he heard the terms thrashed out over a small dining table, realising why the two had waited for him; _and they were patient I'll give them that. Very well then Dorun and Jara Ruz, you've earned your afters_ ; not giving his diminutive pursuers any inkling he'd spotted them the Guildpact of their plane led them on a little way, enough to complete their mission before ducking down a small alleyway and disappearing, staying where he was until he sensed their minds fading, consternation warring with elation that they'd done as they were bid; their treats and coin had been well-earned.

Remaining still until they were gone from his range Jace fingered his chin for a moment, thinking hard; Chandra hadn't been slow in retaliating, in fact she'd been quicker than even he'd anticipated and that put him at a disadvantage. She had something planned and he had no guarantee if his next idea would work; it would be just his luck if after all his subterfuge his opponent turned out to have a soft spot for...; _a soft spot! No, yes, no... yes – I might have to pander to Vorel a touch but I can make it work, especially since I won't have to look after it if they agree. And fair's fair after all_ ; emerging from his alleyway and masking his smirk with his high collar the illusionist set off for home after making sure the coast was clear, his last thought making him snicker at the delicious irony; _she knows where I spend most of the day – it's only fair I know the same about her!_

XXX

Just about keeping his fixed smile in place Jace tentatively flexed his now-throbbing left hand; though he'd dispensed with bandages it was still tender from the lost skin and the half-merfolk he was now following had a heck of a grip,

"So it's all been going rather well," Vorel admitted cheerfully, his gills pulsing as he looked over his shoulder at his guest, "a fair few of the neonates were put out with the restrictions but given I and the other Guildmages look over them before anything gets submitted it's not really slowing us up all that much, and it's caught a few rogue specimens out before we moved onto more dedicated breeding programmes."

"Glad to hear it – last thing we need right now is another plague of eel-wasps." The biomancer grimaced,

"Will you ever let that go? No-one died..."

"More out of luck than judgement," Jace riposted, needling the altered former Gruul, "seriously which genius uses a wooden containment cell for a symbiote with a wood-boring wasp as the base creature?"

"Someone who almost ate his guildmage tunic once I copped hold of him," Vorel muttered, remembering that fiasco and the Guildmeet that had followed it all too well – the Simic coffers still hadn't recovered from the extermination programme and the memory of handing over the cash to Ruric's grinning leer was not going to be forgotten any time soon, "though I'm a little surprised you're here for something this simple; finally picked the locks did you?"

"Ha ha," Jace said flatly, refusing to rise to the smirking biomancers' bait, "contrary to popular belief I am not shackled to my desk."

"Well you know what they say about the Azors, and anyway it wouldn't be the first time Lavinia's had you in ruffles."

"What the Azorius representative gets up to in her spare time is no concern of mine," Jace pointed out, deflecting the memory of his enforced stay within the Azorius detention centre during the Maze run, "and if you're not careful I might let her know you're interested..." Vorel shuddered,

"Uh, fate worse than death; one glare from her could freeze a spawning pool. Think of our babies!" Jace chuckled,

"As I enjoy sleeping at night I usually try very hard not to, though on this occasion I'm more than happy to make an exception. I have to say I was a little dubious when I heard about this project, what brought it about?"

"Necessity," Vorel grunted, still a little put out he'd been drafted into working with specimens he considered far beneath him, "we needed zilos after those damned eel-wasps broke out and that bright spark Zenep came up with this one. Credit where it's due it's worked and if we can get them onto the market they'll more than make their money back, hence why Zenep's wearing the sea-green now." Jace made a note on the paper he was carrying,

"Zenep, I'll add him to the register for the Simic," one of the first reforms Jace had made since being thrust into his position had been to obtain a register of the certified guildmages for each Guild, shaping a rudimentary tracking system. It was a long way from perfect, especially amongst the more chaotic Guilds where leadership changed in the challenge circle or carnival arena, but it was better than nothing and, as he never asked what each Guildmage was working on, it allowed the Guilds their secrecy away from the eyes of their mediator,

"So anything else I ought to know about happening here, and have you made any progress in welcoming the others?" Vorel stopped, Jace pulling to a halt beside a crystal-blue lagoon within the heart of the Simic territory, the water glimmering with the promise of change held within,

"To be honest a lot more than many of us were expecting, certainly more than the Biomaster was," the transformed man admitted, the way he ran his hand through his fins a curiously human gesture, "Guildmage Tandris was the biggest surprise; working with the Selesnya could be a major breakthrough if we can make any headway in their... collectiveness, for want of a better word. There's potential there Jace, bags of it, but none of us can risk even voicing our theories within earshot of any of them because they have to share it with the rest of the commune – they simply don't have secrecy and that's a big problem. Tandris I respect, never let that be in doubt, and she's doing what she can to help but until we breach that barrier we're stuck on that front."

"Unfortunate, but we knew this was never going to be a quick process," Jace reminded his fellow former Maze Runner, "any of the others – wasn't Ruric here not so long back?" To the illusionists' relief Vorel smiled,

"He was and that went well; I didn't think the Gruul would be too hard to convince and thankfully I was right. So far we've got a crude but effective deal; they bring in anything interesting they catch from their territory and we try and breed either better food or more cunning and vicious predators for them to hunt. It's working so far; nothing's broken out that I know of; but I did have to pass a rule that none of their envoys were allowed near the spawning vats after a neonate caught Ruric relieving himself into one of them. It's how they mark their territory, I should have expected it," Vorel sighed, remembering doing the same thing himself several times in his previous life as Jace smothered a sudden laugh before composing himself,

"That poor neonate, I imagine that was a hell of a shock."

"Probably, but given the first word they got out of her when she woke up was 'cor' I don't think there'll be any lasting repercussions," Jace couldn't stop himself, wheezing with laughter before recovering with a glint of mischief in his dark eyes as he faced the merfolk squarely,

"You have to admit that would be a challenge..."

"Not with a fifty-foot barge-pole; even if it could work would _you_ want to explain to a two-headed ogre baby exactly where he came from?"

"Not without a good head-start," Jace admitted before shrugging, "so that romance might have to go its own way; what about the others of the 'Guildme... I know that look."

"What look?"

"The scowl as though you've just bitten something sour, the reflexive twitch of the hands as though trying to break a neck of pure brass – Ral Zarek?"

"Ral Zarek," the merfolk grated, hands curling into fists as the memory burst into the forefront of his brain like a thunderclap from the unbearable Izzet mage, "only this time he had help. I don't know how he did it but, you won't believe me if I tell you," Jace had a split-second to both feel a sense of déjà-vu and banish the vision of an elder dragons' sneer before focussing on Vorel's deflated expression, "you better see for yourself." Casting his mind away from the recollection of a smaller, warmer hand brushing his own the Guildpact gathered a trickle of mana from the verdant ponds about him, his eyes glowing very faintly as he raised his hand,

"With your permission?" The question was by now reflexive and Vorel nodded, barely flinching as the fully human digits made gentle contact with his forehead and slowly, gently subsumed themselves beyond it into his...

... _worry, fear and absolute, maddening fury – did none of the idiots he had to put with here grasp simple orders? Do not let the representatives wander off on their own; was that too hard to understand – swearing he'd personally tattoo it onto the foreheads of the neonates he'd left trembling in his wake, he forced himself calm and closed his eyes, trying to put himself into all three of their shoes. If he were a stranger here where would he go, what would he do? Even as he framed the question a low, ominous rumble from somewhere ahead and off to his left made him regret asking. Ral Zarek had a knack for causing trouble matched only by his ego, though how much trouble the Izzet mage had caused this time left the biomancer speechless; pushing through a last clump of clinging fronds, he came to a halt and stared, literally bug-eye stared at the sight._

 _A miniature thundercloud was boiling ominously over one of the smaller spawning vats, brilliant lightning streaking into its depths with a succession of loud booms – even as he tried frantically to remember the specimens confined to that vat the master of chaos revealed himself,_

 _"Mwuhahahah," silver hair reflecting the lightning and various nick-nacks spinning wildly under the white coat he must have filched on his way here Zarek stood at the lip of the pit with his arms outstretched, "let there be life! Igor, more power!"_

 _"Yes master," only his enhanced hearing let him catch the flat sigh, the second guest to his clade almost hidden beside but just behind the Izzet mage; she was also wearing a white coat but looked somewhat bored as she balanced a fine pair of scales in her free hand. Ral stiffened, tearing his eyes away from the storm to glare at his compatriot,_

 _"Come on Peg, put some effort into it."_

 _"Your zilos brought my mana; enthusiasm costs extra." Teysa responded coolly, not rising to the nickname as Ral sighed,_

 _"You're hopeless; fine, just give me the juice," before getting back into his act, his coat billowing out wildly as the Orzhov envoy tilted her scales and a rush of power surged into him, "live my creation, live!"_

 _There was a bright glare that forced him to look away; by the time his sight recovered whatever mischief the Izzet had cooked up was mercifully over and, since nothing seemed to have blown up or melted, he considered that a slight plus. Not that such small mercies stopped him marching forwards with the intent to throttle the lightning mage until he went bluer in the face than he was himself as Ral coughed and recovered,_

 _"That went well; heh, nice do Tey, it suits you" despite himself the half-merfolk couldn't resist a snort at the smaller woman's normally poker-straight black hair sticking out at crazy angles from the static, "oh, hey Vorel."_

 _"What. Have. You. Done?" The words were spat out as fiercely as Exava threw knives, the venom behind them seemingly catching Ral off-guard as he shrank back a pace,_

 _"Hey, just doing as the natives do, spirit of inter-Guild co-operation and all that. Your neonates explained how it was supposed to work and I thought I'd give it go. Look, it's alive... I think; anyway there wasn't anything important in there, I che... I'm guessing that's not a happy-fish-face?"_

 _Seeing the squirming mass at the bottom of the vat his temper gave with an almost-audible ping; Vorel roared as he lunged for the infuriating man but somehow Ral squirmed out the way, dancing past his rush maddeningly,_

 _"Whoa, hey, I'm a guest here; I was only trying to he-eey!" His heel caught something and he toppled backwards with a crash; before he could recover Vorel was onto him, dragging him up by the collar and dismissing his worried grin before suddenly smirking himself,_

 _"Well Zarek, if you want to do as the natives do here's the first rule of the Simic", Rals' squawk as he hefted him overhead was music to his altered ears, "you make a mess, you clean it up!" The shriek the Izzet made as he was tossed into the crater was only enhanced by the sight of his arms flapping desperately before he tumbled into the pit with a splash. Letting out a breath and wondering how he was going to even try to explain this nightmare to the higher-ups the biomancer rounded on his other guest with an evil glare,_

 _"And how were you roped into this?"_

 _"A very big bribe," that made sense though he suspected the money wasn't quite as important as Teysa claimed; though she never admitted it most of the 'Meet suspected her of having a well-hidden sense of humour, "speaking of which, fifteen zees will do."_

 _"Fifteen – for what?!"_

 _"Helping apprehend a criminal to your Guild," the woman riposted coolly even as the shrieks from behind them grew more panicked, "I trust you saw...?"_

 _"You know I did," though in truth not many would have, Teysa's skill with her cane making the movement that had hooked Ral's ankle little more than a blur, "I'll give you ten, though having said that isn't fifteen light for you usurers?"_

 _"Thirty for a criminal usually," Teysa informed him, pocketing the coins he tossed over and speaking over the thunder now rumbling within the pit Ral and his storm-birthed monster were ensconced in, "but for Zarek I'll give you half-off..."_

...and he couldn't pull his hand off his lips, cheeks bulging as he tried to contain his mirth, succeeding after a long struggle. Dashing tears from his eyes Jace heaved down a deep breath and managed to look up at the now-stern Guildmage,

"We've all been there; I should take another sweep-stake for which of us does him in first."

"If we could get away with it it'd be a team effort; there's your inter-Guild co-operation Jace. Give us all an hour, hell give us all ten minutes with no witnesses, he'd never be found."

"Valroz would see to that I'm sure but truth be told he's not the worst we could have had out the Izzet," the other reason for not replacing the infuriating storm mage Jace kept private, shifting the conversation back on track masterfully, "though as of now we're here and losing time. Let's see this new creature of yours then; with any luck I might get back to my desk before Lavinia submerges it in paper again."

The actual sight awaiting him in a covered area away from the main Hull clade working area some moments later wasn't quite what he'd expected; there were a series of small, slatted wooden crates, the occupants of each of them scuffling and scurrying about in its confinement,

"Luckily Zenep realised putting them in normal boxes would have been no use," Vorel said as Jace stepped forwards, his shadow falling across some of the crates and stopping all movement from within, "they'd not have done any harm if they'd escaped, not like some of our other creatures at least, but hunting them down would have been a pest."

"I can imagine; bit of an odd choice for a base creature wasn't it?"

"Hah, so speaks one who's never camped out in the Rubblebelt; they grow bigger than Ruric out there, and so quiet you'll never hear them until their fangs are in your throat. They're also great predators even without splicing; to be honest that was just to make them more appealing than anything else."

"Appealing how; they are friendly right?"

"They are; standard testing shows you have to push them hard to get them to react and even when they do it's virtually all defensive. They'll give you a nasty nip if you go for them but so would any of the base creatures, a dog or a cat; you can touch them, they won't bite." Trusting the biomancer knew his business Jace squatted and poked a finger towards the closest crate, biting back a shiver at the long, sinuous limb that reached out in kind,

"Their hair's different, spliced in?"

"Makes them easier for people to get used to, the normal bristles are quite sharp," Vorel told him, warming to his subject, "apart from that though they're competent hunters, reasonable sociable with each other, eat the common Ravnican pests like they're going to be banned tomorrow, don't get much bigger than the one you've got there, don't shed and as long as you don't tread on them or poke them in the eyes they're harmless as far as we can tell. Zenep earned his robe with this idea; we're about to move onto small-scale field-tests with your say-so." Giving the leg he was running his finger up and down a last stroke Jace stood up, looking over the research notes again and discretely crossing his fingers,

"Well given what I've read and seen I don't see a reason to hold back on them, but at the same time I might be able to help you out with that."

"Help out?" The merfolk looked perplexed, "You don't have a pest problem surely?"

"Not me, friends of mine," Jace explained, stretching the truth to just before breaking point, "mice everywhere apparently; this could be just what they need to get rid of them and you need for your information – you'd usually start with a single specimen wouldn't you? I can wear your colours when I introduce them; I am technically a lay-man of every Guild after all." Vorel considered this, scrutinising the mind-mage carefully as he measured his answer,

"We would start with one but we'd usually have at least a neonate overseeing the test and we've a bank of specialised testing homes for this sort of thing..."

"Vorel you want to release this creature to the general public; my friends are pretty much the market you're looking to corner," Jace countered, pointing to the crates and their scuttling cargo, "I can oversee the introduction at the very least and more besides if needed, plus evidence from a non-standard testing environment should hold more water than a normal test shouldn't it?"

He'd said the magic words; Vorel, much like Jace himself in a way, was first and foremost a scientist and therefore giving weight to his theories and discoveries always chimed well with him. The biomancer's agreement was the critical thing, all else were details to be thrashed out on the walk back to the edge of the clade territory and they were mostly done as Jace prepared to depart, though as he did the merfolk suddenly stopped, regarding his friend askew,

"What happened to your cloak?"

"It got mangled," the illusionist sighed, glancing over his shoulder at the now-ripped and fur-covered fabric, "that cat Lavinia keeps around the office, remember it?"

"The one she had one of our neonates check over? Vicious little bleeder if I heard right."

"You did but for some reason my cloak seems to be a femme fatale as far as Mangle's concerned; that was the name the office gave him, after his torn-up ear. Every time he's in the office whomp, he goes straight for it like an arrow; he's all but clawed my door to ribbons trying to get to it and I don't like cats. I'll have to get a new one."

"I'd recommend it; you'll likely not shake him off until you do."

"Why is that, in fact you'd be the one to ask; why do cats go straight for people who are either allergic or don't like them? He could curl up under 'Vinia's desk all day, why does he have to go and pester me?"

"Because your cloak's covered in cat piss."

Jace chuckled before realising the Simic was serious, hastily shucking the garment off himself and looking from it to the merfolk aghast,

"What?!" Ire suddenly clouded his face at the thought of the stray befouling his clothing, "If he's done that he's going..."

"Not him, a female cat; tom spray stinks, even you'd catch it," Vorel told him, taking a step closer to confirm his hypothesis, his altered nose having alerted him to Jaces' predicament as it was sensitive than a regular humans', "no, queen in heat for definite; I'm surprised you've not had more following you home, or have you?" Knowing this answered a few mysteries Jace had recently been pondering and he nodded slowly,

"I wondered why some were yowling nearby; we don't usually get many in my neighbourhood – where the hell did that...?"

Vorel saw him answer the question as he was asking it; he'd known the Guildpact long enough to pick out the rudiments of his thinking and, seeing the mans' tattooed face first illuminated by insight then clouded over by sudden consternation mixed with fury, he wisely thought better of asking as the arbiter of Ravnica hastily bundled the robe up, muttering something incomprehensible but doubtless offensive under his breath. Taking a deep breath as he remembered where he was Jace put the issue to the back of his mind and faced Vorel again,

"Sorry about that; I know where this came from, an oversight on my part; thanks for pointing it out before the situation got any worse and 'Vinia started trying to book me for animal cruelty. So, tomorrow to pick up the specimen?"

"I'll have a neonate waiting," Vorel assured him, making a mental note to ask his Azorius counterpart what had gotten under the Guildpacts' skin, "thanks for your time Jace, hopefully there'll be nothing unpleasant waiting in your office when you get back."

"If I'm not at the 'Meet send a rescue team."

 _No doubting why those two were following me now_ ; the thought chafed at his mind as he left the Hull clade, glaring at the cloak in his hand as he pictured the red mages' plan perfectly. Chandra's spies had been worth the price he'd seen her pay – knowing his usual route into and away from work it would have been all too easy to follow him just a couple of paces behind and hit him with the pheromones that had been driving Mangle, and by extension him, mad for the past few days. He wouldn't have felt it as his cloaks were water-resistant by design and the streets were so crowded when he left the Guildmeet, or so quiet when he arrived, she'd have had little trouble planting him with the stuff either; but for fortune and Vorel his present state of siege by a preening half-feral tomcat could have continued until he got rid of the cloak by accident rather than design. _Well played Miss Nalaar_ ; despite himself the Guildpact had to grudgingly concede her some respect as he stuffed the cloak into a public waste bin just outside the combine; _your spies were worth their price. However_ _we'll soon see who's king of the beasts Chandra, and chances are it's not going to be you if this works out!_

XXX

She'd known it was going to be rough since the day after she'd tagged the blue-covered back and slipped away into the crowd gleefully but this was worse than normal, so much so that her early arrival caught the one she'd been hoping to catch flat-footed,

"Chan?" Buuthe looked her up and down as though she were a ghost, "What are you doing here, you're usually not about 'til mid-morning."

"Hoping to catch you," the planeswalker replied, trying to think how best to phrase her request, "listen I know the ceilings' not done yet but could you get someone else to finish it off? It's nearly there and I'm not feeling the full furnace, you know what I mean?"

"Why – you're not ill are... oh," reading the clues from the way the other woman held herself the Izzet mages' expression softened, "being visited?"

"Trying to throw the frazzer out, he's overstaying his welcome," Chandra confirmed, ignoring the slight cramp in her abdomen to stand tall, "I'll be fine in a few days."

"It's not a problem, thanks for letting me know; we've had a few try to put a brave face on it and come a cropper in the past," Buuthe told her sympathetically, "consider yourself off the roof for now, you'll be with me and Hori altering the electrum concentrations for the new compounds."

"Hori? The electromancer?"

"That's the one; not much cause for your fire really so you'll mostly be taking notes I'm afraid."

"That'll do me," Chandra sighed tiredly, inwardly cursing the unsettling warmth for disrupting her normal sleeping and hoping it would soon be gone, "right now the last thing I need is more heat in my belly."

"Now there's something I never thought I'd hear you say," the Izzet snickered, though as the firebrand rolled a glare her way her mirth evaporated and she reached out to touch her friends' shoulder, "it's not a problem Chan, I know what I'm doing. Just do me a favour though."

"What?"

"Don't set anyone on fire without going through me first?" The firebrands' fists clenched, her already bad-mood further darkened before she contained herself; _she's my friend, I don't turn friends to charcoal without a very good reason_ ;

"Too many more jokes like that and you'll be the first in line for the furnace Boomer; let's get this over with so I can go home and feel sorry for myself in peace – where's the clipboard?"

XXX

A common observation about the city of Guilds was that the streets were always teeming and to an extent it was true; however if one were to step off the beaten track a little way, set aside the main concourses and immerse themselves in the smaller areas of the city, they would find themselves in a place so alien to the bustling city they could be walking on another plane entirely. So thought the ultimate arbiter of the city at least, enjoying an extended lunch as he strode casually along the outskirts of the small, slightly run-down district and taking in the large, flattened area he was approaching as he began sensing snatches of thought from the people ahead. Following the directions he'd carefully prised from the minds of those following him some days ago the illusionist and his new friend, currently on a slim lead and rendered invisible by a simple cloaking enchantment to avoid causing a panic, emerged through a small street after dodging a rolled barrel and the workers rolling it. Before them stretched one of Ravnica's innumerable common patches of land, the communal ground around which small districts were build and ways of life were based.

 _A way of life as grand and complex as any in nature_ ; out of his office for the rest of the day due to some canny delegation of his duties and calling in a few owed favours Jace paused for a moment, letting his mind take in some of the people before him and smiling to himself as the district came to life in front of him. Over to his left, out of range of his sight but not his mind, two teams of boys were hoisting aloft two old planks of wood, protecting their own while pelting that of the other team with small pebbles in a game their father and grandfathers had taught them. Closer under a small tree a new mother hushed her squalling infant while telling an old story to a throng of young children while a group of brewers' assistants sat on the grass close by, throwing back mugs of their masters' wares while making crude boasts of their prowess, sexual or otherwise. Forgetting his reasons for coming here for a moment Jace merely accepted it all, reminded of why he performed his new duty and bore the Guildpact's mantle; it was for this.

He and the Guildmeet were the brain of the city of Guilds, but the brain was as nothing compared to the true heartbeat of Ravnica.

 _And my task is to aid that heartbeat, including getting rid of those who'd poison it from within_ ; the tail end of a sudden dark thought broke Jaces' contentment, the mind-mage quickly memorised the information from the perpetrators' mind and resolving to inform Lavinia as soon as possible to get the guilty party locked away. Refocused after the distraction Jace sent his mind out again to find the reason he was here and, upon doing so, hurried over hoping to arrive in time to quell the sudden aggression he'd sensed, his invisible companion easily keeping pace with his sudden haste.

XXX

It was foolish but he did it anyway, stepping forwards and raising his hands,

"Jara, go look after Klo," a glare quieted his younger sibling and despite his mouth going suddenly dry he made his challenge to the duo in front of him, "give that back!"

"Or what runt?" Ogith, or was it Bolgir; the two looked so alike it didn't really matter; sneered, the twins' sycophantic little friend Zelon chipping in from behind his bigger guard,

"Yeah, or what Ruz? It's just a spoon; your ma can soon carve another out your da's coffin." Dorun heard his sister gasp and a red mist tinged his vision,

"Shut your mouth frazzer, or I will!"

"Oh yeah," the other twin, a head taller and much wider than the eldest of the Ruz siblings, answered gloatingly, "how you gonna do that Dorun? There's three of us an' our little sister's al'us wanted a dolly, even a spoony-one – we might let 'er play with it if she asks nice".

"Dorun, don't," he heard his sisters' concerned whisper but discounted it, only hoping he didn't look as scared as he felt as he took a step forwards, raising his fists and trying to quell the churning in his stomach,

"Give it back; last chance." The two twins shared a look before breaking out into identical, malicious grins,

"He jus' don't know when to go," the one on the right commented, shrugging as his brought his own pudgy hands forwards, "'ang about Zel, this won't – whu...?"

Not taking his eyes off the two; despite their dimness misdirection wasn't unknown to the Porron twins; Dorun nevertheless felt the strangest sensation suddenly prickle along both his sides, two new presences springing into being flanking him. Hearing both Klo and Jara gasp he glanced to the side only to almost fall over his feet in shock; _but, Ogith's over there! How's he...?_ ;

"Who're you?" Zelon's tone was both forceful and afraid; after looking over his shoulder Dorun span about, no longer concerned about giving his back to his former enemies; in the face of a stranger on the common all other differences were put aside. The man, plain-looking but wearing a frown, regarded the boy who'd questioned him severely, eyes narrowing as he raised a hand,

"No-one important, just a man with a keen sense of fairness. Well, what are you waiting for," he continued after a heartbeat of silence, gesturing towards Dorun and the doppelganger twins, "three against three's a fair fight."

"But," Bolgir stuttered, looking at his own, unblinking visage disconcerted, "but, they're... 'ow'd you make us? You a mage?" The man merely smiled and nodded, thinly amused as both bigger boys blanched and looked back at their friend,

"Not messin' with a caster Zel; we give it back we're good?" The mage snorted, Dorun noticing with some disquiet the faces of the magical twins frowning as well,

"No, all three of you are bullies who tried to steal a little girls' doll – there's little good to be seen in that," his tone wasn't angry as much as it was disapproving but all three guilty parties flinched as though he'd brandished a switch, "give back what you stole and clear out of here, I don't want to see you around again."

The three shared a look before, reluctantly, the smallest of them squeezed past his burlier protectors and faced up to the eldest Ruz, the shaft of the painted spoon in his hand as he gulped under the unseeing scrutiny of the created twins and suddenly thrust the toy towards the slightly taller boy, muttering a quick,

"Sorry," under his breath. As soon as Dorun took it he and his friends were gone, the trio making hasty tracks away as with a shimmer of light the other pair of twins disappeared, leaving the Ruz alone with the stranger the eldest addressed after giving his sister back her almost-lost dolly,

"Look after it next time Jara," nodding as she tucked it into her belt with one hand and took Klo's hand with the other, Jara stood beside but slightly behind her brother as he faced the stranger directly, faint warning in his tone, "thanks for your help stranger, who are you?" Much to his relief the taller man smiled, holding up a hand to forestall his nerves,

"No-one you need fear little master – that was some bottle you showed there, fighting for your sisters' honour." Despite himself Dorun felt his cheeks redden and tried to hide his embarrassment with a cough,

"Uh, thanks, but you haven't answered me. Who are you, and why are you on our common?"

"Persistent in your questions aren't you – I joke," the man admitted, sinking to his haunches before sitting down, "my name isn't really important but just for the tally-books you can call me Berus. What does matter is that I'm not who I appear to be; I and my associate have come here in disguise..."

The sitting mans' form shimmered and Dorun felt as much as heard his sister and brother shrink closer to him as the magic, whatever it was, took effect, though when the spell ended all three were left gaping until Jara realised something first, pointing to the seated man with awe in her tone,

"You're Gated!"

"Indeed I am," Berus replied easily, running a hand down his patterned tunic before regarding them with a slight challenge in his eye, "can you tell which Gate I passed through?"

"Uhh..."; _I really should have listened to Weliv more_ ; put on the spot Dorun found himself regretting past inattentiveness as he racked his brains; _not Rakdos, they're black and bloody, Orzhov would have tried to fleece us by now and definitely not Izzet..._ ; "...Selesnya?"

"Simic; you were close though," the man chuckled before turning slightly more serious, "and I'm here on Thistlewrought Common on Guild business. My combine has recently developed a new creature, one we're looking to hopefully introduce to places like this and people like you; I'm just seeing how one of them reacts to being outside for the first time and thus far he's doing a fine job." Sister and elder brother shared a look before Jara was unofficially elected to break the silence,

"But, there's nothing else there?"

"Is there not; I am a caster don't forget," the man teased, holding up his left hand, "I can show you this new beast of ours if you're interested; he's a lot less horrible than he looks so don't judge the book by its binding. Is that all right with you?"

Seeing all three children hold a small conference and then nod cautiously Berus smiled and then raised his hand, showing the lead clenched with it and, more importantly, what the end of that lead was attached to. Jara let out a small squeal and Dorun almost tripped over his brother as he backed up a pace but, after a long moment of observing the squat shape and watching it return the favour, he gradually re-took the pace he'd fallen back and, swallowing, regarded the Simic mage and his creature once more,

"That, ah, that's a big spindle-pins..."

Fortunately instinctive revulsion was soon overcome by curiosity which, as it became obvious the creature, far from being dangerous, was actually rather friendly, soon matured to avid affection for the scuffling being. After Berus gave them a few pointers about how best to stroke and even pick the animal up the Ruz children were more than happy to pass it around between them, giggling as its long legs feathered over them and its mouthparts, far from sinking deep, ruffled over their fingers almost affectionately,

"Make sure he doesn't pull his hair, he won't like that," the Simic said warning, Dorun nodding and making sure Klobud only patted the small body now curled up in his lap as his sister gabbled away excitedly,

"So what does he eat?"

"Mice for now, though he'll take rats as well when he's full-grown; we bred him to be a pest controller – think of him as a cat, just better."

"Wish we could get a cat, a good mouser; they've eaten through one of my tunics," the girl groused, looking down at some of the patches making her clothes last, "they make ma sneeze though."

"I know that pain, I can't stand cats either," Berus chuckled before checking the sun, "oh my, time's getting on. Pass me Spindles if you would; we'd best be getting back the Combine, though full marks for this part of the test so far."

"Test?"

"Oh yes," the Simic nodded at the girls' question, "don't you remember, he's currently going through preliminary testing to ensure he and his strain meet the needed requirements. I brought him to Thistlewrought to see how he'd react to people – it'd be pointless, in fact it'd be dangerous to introduce something likely to bite into peoples' homes, so we wanted to see how he'd react at a distance before we placed him in a test-home. Thanks to you three though," he favoured the children with a grateful smile as he came to his feet and reached for the now-unclipped lead, "that was a much shorter distance than we expected. Still, time to go for now; come on Spindles, there's some fresh mice waiting for you at home."

"Wait." Halfway through reaching down to the animal Berus glanced over,

"Hmm?"

"You want to take Spindles back to the Conba...uh, Combi-place?

"The Combine; sorry no, you three definitely can't come, it's dangerous in there if you don't know your way around."

"We don't want to go, it's just... we've, uh, well _everyone_ around here's got mice and, if he eats them, and he won't make a mess..."

"We look af'er Spin'les," Klobud finished for his brother, youth rendering him mostly immune to fear and embarrassment as Dorun and Jara, after recovering from the shocking embarrassment of his sudden request, both nodded. Taken somewhat aback but this Berus seemed ready to say something before wilting under their beseeching gazes,

"Well it's not exactly proper, but we are looking for more test-beds; I heard my biomancer moaning about it earlier. He is considered minimal risk I suppose, and no harm ever came from taking a gander at least..."

That supposed gander ended up taking the remainder of the afternoon; after re-applying the concealment for Spindles to let them exit the common Berus found himself hovering near the back door of one of the tenement buildings ringing the communal areas while the children darted within, calling for their mother. Ignoring the unseen snuffling about his boots he took in the sight; the houses were definitely built for those who worked either for or close to the Izzet, though fortunately the Guild was a fair way away so the risk of collateral damage was low. Still it wouldn't hurt for the Izzet to pay a bit more care to the districts around their Guildhall as some of these dwellings were showing their age, though before he could dwell on it too long the door he was adjacent to swung open and he bowed politely,

"Madam Ruz I presume?"

"That'd be me," the small but determined looking woman now eyeing him confirmed, "so you're the Gated my little ones told me of?"

"Truth be told I'm just a layman, they give me the clothes to make sure I'm not mistaken for a work in progress," the man admitted, pulling at his blue-green tunic self-consciously before slewing the conversation back on track, "ah, did they tell you...?"

"They told me plenty, half of which I don't know if I believe. Still, stop making the doormat untidy and come in – I'll decide what to believe when I've heard you out, though cause trouble in my house and even the Golgari won't find all the pieces..."

Fortunately for the Simic layman Dorlunn turned out to have a good deal of common sense and a keen eye on her finances, though the knowledge that she could claim a small stipend for overseeing a Simic project was likely sugar on a pill already sweetened by the actions of the combine he introduced her to. After giving it free roam of the small house for a while ('give him time to get settled in and see where to hunt from' as Berus put it), the creature immediately endeared itself to the whole family by beginning its feast on the mice of the household, the speed of the small pests outmatched by that of the Simic creation. As Spindle-Pins finished his first meal within his apparent new home; it was obvious, Berus sighed, that the only way he was getting his specimen back to the Combine now was with all three of the Ruz children clinging to his ankles the whole way there; the Gated was surprised to find himself invited to a similar feast,

"But, no really, thank you but I couldn't..."

"Someone waiting for you at home?

"Well, no but..."

"Then you can," Dorlunn finished for him, shepherding Jara out the door to pick kindling from the basket outside as she set the stove, "yon Spindles is more than enough to earn you a seat at the table tonight. They say you'll never know what you can find on the Common; I certainly wasn't expecting a second lodger today, least of one who'll stop those three bickering over whose turn it is to set the mousetraps."

"A very good bonus, though I'd recommend having those off the floor as soon as possible, Spindles might step on them otherwise. And you have a lodger?"

"Yes, lay-woman for the Izzet, she should be back soon now I've laid the fire, she's a nose for dinner," Berus hastily stifled a snort and did what he could to lend a hand, watching a pot boil on the crude hob a little while later when there was a bang from the front of the house,

"I'm back, now for the love of the gods tell me supper's on the table." Glancing over his shoulder the Simic saw Dorlunn, now laying the table with help from her youngest, draw in breath to answer before someone else beat her to it,

"Chandra look," the excited chatter and swiftly beating feet could only have come from Jara, "we got Spindles!"

As the stunned silence that met this pronouncement was broken by a sudden thump Berus winced before turning to his host,

"That could pose a problem..."

XXX

The day had been... survived; that was about all Chandra could say about it given the mood she was in. It wasn't lethargy or tiredness more than a general impatience to get back to feeling herself again; she knew it would blow over and the sooner that happened the better. It had been ever thus since she'd first raced into the then-eldest sisters' chambers with blood on her tunic, white-faced and convinced she was on the cusp of death before Luti had sat her down and initiated her into the truth of womanhood. Like all girls she'd first been revolted; now, older and somewhat wiser, it was just a part of her life as much as her pyromancy, nothing she could do about it save endure. _A task made easier with half-decent food, though decent afters would help even more_ ; fighting down a stab of ill-temper as she recalled the succour she'd bartered away the firebrand opened the door, calling out as she unfastened her boots,

"I'm back, now for the love of the gods tell me suppers' on the table." Tugging off her left shoe she expected to hear Dorlunn answer but instead heard a clatter of footsteps behind her as one of the children arrived at a rush,

"Chandra look,"; _what's got Jara so excited?_ ; "we got Spindles!"

Chandra glanced over her shoulder, looked into the face of the thing being thrust towards her, and blinked.

It was rather a long blink, so long that when she opened her eyes she was on her backside against the front door, Jara peering at her concerned and seemingly oblivious to the monster she was cradling more tenderly than her dolly. Flinching at the sight of the thing Chandra fumbled for a spell before something else happened, something so unexpected it buried her need for fire, her loathing, even her fear under an avalanche of undiluted shock,

"That could pose a problem,"; _no that, that's not... just, no_ ; like a sleepwalker she rose and tottered clumsily past Jara, not reacting to the creature she now clutched like the tattered teddy bear she sometimes slept with; she couldn't be hearing this, it was impossible, "it seems your lodger doesn't much like spidots."

It was impossible but as she slumped against the kitchen doorframe the impossible was there regardless. Dorlunn was spared a glance, even the edge of a smile before the firebrand found her jaw working soundlessly, the disbelief stuck in her throat as from the stove of the Ruz household Jace Beleren stood regarding her wearing blue-green robes and fighting down a grin of unbearable smugness. Even with his tattoos obscured and the majority of his piercings absent Chandra could have picked him out a mile away; his whole posture was radiating superiority, the reason for which becoming clear as she suddenly realised exactly what he was disguised as. Shock was eaten away by anger, the colour rising in her whitened face mottling her visage as she slowly extended a trembling finger, her voice at last found as a low, venomous hiss,

" _You!_ "

"Uh," the camouflaged illusionist glanced around, "oh, me?"

"You."

"No I'm me; you're you." Thrown completely off-track Chandra's brow furrowed,

"What?"

"No he's someone else; ah, apologies, not been a layman long, forgot the usual greeting," chaos was added to madness as Chandra watched him step forwards, trying to cling to a shred of sense and think of a smarter course of action than 'batter the mind-mage', satisfying as it would be to follow her instincts, "Berus of the Simic at your service." He stuck out a hand and after blinking dumbly for a few seconds the required greeting trickled hazily through the firebrands' mind,

"Chandra of the Izzet, at yours", the sensation of a hand in her gauntlets' palm earthed some of the shock, enough to tighten her grip at least, "tell me Bel-rus, what are you doing here?" Jace didn't answer, his face paling rapidly as he belatedly realised her hand-wear enhanced her strength quite considerably, though mercifully she let go before anything important went pop,

"I ah," he began, discreetly shaking his throbbing fingers, "well it wasn't entirely my decision to be here – why don't we all wash up and discuss things over dinner, I'm sure the soup's just finished boiling."

 _Hate you, hate you, hate you..._ ; listening to what had happened on the Common with half an ear Chandra directed most of her effort in cursing the mind-mage, his immediate ancestry and anything else she could think of he might have half a hand in. She couldn't tell for sure if he was picking up on her unspoken death-threats but given his occasional shivers as though trying to suppress either hysteria or sobs she guessed he was, the thought merely making her redouble her attempts to force him to spontaneously combust in his seat,

"...mind will you? Chandra," she glanced up at her name, not missing Jaces' smirk and swearing to pay him back later, "do you mind?"

"Sorry," she covered her inattention with a rueful smile, "not feeling myself today. What am I supposed to be minding?"

"Master Berus has some forms or something that need filling out while we're looking after Spindles," Dorlunn repeated, regarding the younger woman with a faint air of suspicion, "he's shown Dorun how to fill them out but you won't mind checking them over will you?"

"Uhh, no, I guess not," the firebrand acquiesced, the agreement like a drink of bile; she could all but taste her opponents' smarm, "just run me through it when we get a minute and keep that pest out from under my feet, I might tread on it otherwise."

"No," there was an outcry from all three children before Berus cleared his throat,

"Well if hosting him's going to be a problem he can always go back to the clade, we do..."

" _No!_ "; _you bastard_ ; the fire mage snarled in her mind, lancing him with a venomous glare as she was subject to a trio of betrayed looks; _had to make me look like the bad guy didn't you? I am really, really going to get you for this!_ ;

"Don't worry, I'll live with him as long as he stays out my way – where is the little bath-haunter anyway?"

"Probably hunting, it's been a big day for him," Berus told her, hiding his smile behind his wooden cup, "not every day a combine gets adopted after all. To Spindle-Pins," Chandra's cup creaked as she begrudgingly hefted it aloft, joining the impromptu toast her enemy raised to his little monster – how the hell could Jace be in the Simic of all Guilds, "may he be the first of many." The thought made her shudder as she took a hasty sip, not missing Dorlunn rising and counting down another few heartbeats until the damned mind-mage was out of here,

"If he keeps the mice down around here I'll take as many as you can give me," Chandra shuddered again, "now a hand please Jara, let's have some afters."

"Aye, let's," her second-eldest agreed, hoisting plates off the table and nodding in thanks as his guest stacked his cutlery neatly and passed it along, "it's a day to be thankful for. Got rid of the Porrun twins and found our new spide-er, spidot?"

"That's the one; he's mostly spider as you can tell but they, the biomancers this is, far over my head, added some cat and a little dog as well, makes him friendlier and easier to touch – ever held a live spider before?" Chandra was sure if she shuddered much more she'd develop a nervous twitch, "Well their hair is spiky, not nice to stroke like Spindles is. He doesn't much like water but let him roam and he'll be happy enough, though be careful in the morning if he leaves any mice wrapped up."

"We'll be on the lookout; now share nicely," Dorlunn replied, regarding her family beadily as she set down a tray of freshly-baked and heavenly-scented spiced biscuits. Chandra's mouth watered even as her pride took another battering; bad enough she couldn't partake but for Jace to see her suffer was salt, no, worse it was acid in the wound. She did her best to act blasé as the tray was quickly emptied, hoping no-one would comment,

"Not hungry Miss Nalaar?" _Curse you hope!_ ; swiftly burying her loathing of the other planeswalker in the room Chandra merely shrugged,

"Nah; watching my figure, you know how it..."

"She can't have any; she promised them to us for a favour," the voice was a knife right between the shoulder-blades, the firebrand's volcanic glare merely bouncing off Dorun's cheeky grin as he inadvertently handed her opponent another stick to beat her pride with,

"Oh? What favour was this, or is it private?"

"It's private," Chandra snapped before anyone else could open their mouth, wondering if Jace had made that slip on purpose or if it had been a mistake – had he let the children speak he could have seen her squirm a lot more, "and you button it." Her threatening face had the eldest child quickly nod in agreement and the firebrand sat back relieved until Jace coughed, indicating the baking tray,

"I'm sure that last one won't stretch your figure too far." He was teasing her and loving every heartbeat of it; try as she might Chandra couldn't quite keep all the glower from her voice as she muttered,

"It's fine," and was then forced to watch her hated enemy snaffle the last toasted treat from the plate and wolf it down with a flourish, the crunching biscuit drowning out the noise of the firebrands' teeth grinding until he swallowed and wiped the crumbs from his lips,

"Madam that was delicious, one of the finest meals I've eaten in a long time," despite herself Dorlunn chuckled a little, reaching for the tray and dropping it into the sink behind her,

"Think nothing of it, even without that beast of yours you pulled my three out of trouble with the Porrun boys. I'll have to have a word with their mother again, they'll grow up worse than the Gruul unless she and that clot of a man keep them in line. Will you be off to your combine?"

"I will straight after I've made myself useful around here – no," standing, Berus held up a palm as the Ruz matriarch made to speak, "this time I must insist. It would be rude of me not to turn my hand after such a wonderful meal..."

XXX

Slamming the bucket down on the worn stone under the pump Chandra worked the stirrup furiously, imagining Jaces' head was caught under it as she sent water cascading over through the ancient pump so hard half of it sloshed over the buckets' side and drizzled onto her boots. She didn't care; she would when it soaked through to her leggings but right now she had to do something to keep her temper at just plain boiling point otherwise Jace was going to win the game she'd started and that she just couldn't face happening. _How did he know, did he see it during our fight?_ ; that was her first thought and it had merit; it wouldn't have been the first time he'd found out something he should have been in the dark about; but at the same time it didn't quite make sense. Having thought about their first duel quite a bit since their game had begun the pyromancer had suddenly realised Jace knowing what he had perhaps wasn't as outlandish as it had first seemed. Though she still didn't know exactly how his magic worked she knew memory played a big part of it and just before their duel had been the first time she'd seen Brannon in months; the younger pyromancer and their interactions had been foremost in her thoughts and Jace must have seen most of them during the battle, including the one that had undone her years later.

 _So how did he know about me and spiders?_ ; that was much older memory, one no-one at Keral Keep should have known except maybe Mother Luti and the eight-legged horrors had been about the last thing on her mind following returning from Kephalai; _just as well, or that would have been a very quick duel given his illusions._ Shivering at the thought of what might have happened had the mind-mage come forearmed with that knowledge Chandra reached down and seized the now-full bucket, a burst of fire around her feet drying out her soaked shoes as she lugged her burden back towards the waiting sink. Taking care not to spill any of the contents she let herself in the back door, letting it fall closed behind her before turning around and stopping dead at the sight. Over the sink a small monsoon; she couldn't describe it any other way; was raining steadily over the stacked dishes, the man conjuring it looking over the arm of the seat he was sat in, his unendurable smirk meeting her bare-fanged snarl as he quirked an eyebrow,

"Problems? No," he was just quick enough, scooping the deluge aimed squarely at his face up with his mana and directing it through the heart of his storm, scattering the small cloud but successfully preventing a drenching as Chandra scowled, his expression mirroring it as he stood up and faced her squarely, the kitchen door thankfully shut and granting the two planeswalkers a measure of privacy, "that was stupid."

"Be grateful it was just the water," Chandra riposted, slamming the now-empty bucket down by the door, "and I'd have dried you off, you can count on that. Now get lost, I've got work to do and I'm not having you sat there gloating about it."

"You think I'm here to gloat with this in my hands?" Jace asked sourly, holding up the dishrag he'd had in his lap, "I promised Ms Ruz I'd help clear up and I'll hold to that."

"You holding to a promise, first time for everything. Sorry," that was too far regardless of what made her say it, "you didn't deserve that, I'm not feeling myself today."

"You're moody, snappish and short-tempered; I fail to see anything unusual," Jace pointed out though his voice lacked heat; if anything he sounded concerned as his raincloud pulled itself together and start filling the sink again, "not serious I hope?"

"Nah I'll be fine; actually, while you're here," it was as good a time as any to ask and it might give her a little while to both get back to full strength and get used to the new lodger Jace had foisted on her, "would you be, uh, willing to, halt our game, just for a few days?"

"Why? Are y... ah," she'd packed as much of her discontent and irritation as she could into the look she threw him and mercifully he caught it, glancing away embarrassed, "I see. Until the next time at the _Weird_ , that long enough?"

"Um, yeah, thanks" his immediate capitulation caught her off-guard, "you know?"

"I work with several women in the 'Meet, Lavinia included," Jace reminded her, Chandra wincing at the thought of the arrestor in the grip of a day-long bad temper, "just glad I don't have to go through it. So, the game is on hold and I'm sure you've as many questions about Spindles over there as I have about how my favourite cloak suddenly became a magnet for every tomcat within a hundred miles," Chandra couldn't hide her guilty smirk, the knowledge her scheme had gone off somewhat assuaging her disgust as she saw the spidot hanging on the side of the stove, lurking death for the next whiskered snout that poked out from under it,

"Ah, caught that did you?"

"More by luck than judgement; come on," wafting a hand Jace banished his precipitation, the dishes now submerged in the nearly full sink, "we might as well talk as we work."

The steam from the water her mana soon had near-boiling worked wonders in clearing her head, the fire mage breathing in a lungful before reaching for the first implements,

"Let them drain a minute, most of it'll boil off."

"Glad to hear it," Jace answered, watching on as a handful of cutlery hit the side with a clatter, "so then, if we go from the start I think you've got a story about a cat for me?" Chandra chuckled,

"Old trick from Regatha; be grateful it wasn't a pride of those fire-cats after you. Seen the young toms circling outside the gates of the Keep for days after someone got hit by that joke; used to make the wardens have kittens." Jace snorted before recomposing himself, running his dishcloth over a steaming plate,

"My office door sends its sympathies; clawed to flinders by Mangle, our supposed office cat," he explained as Chandra quirked an eyebrow, not even trying to disguise her smile, "remind me to introduce to the two of you at some stage, I have a suspicion you'd get on."

"And why's that?" _Let's see if this truce holds_ ;

"Because telling either of you to beat your head against a brick wall would end with harder heads and a pile of rubble; that was very childish," he sighed, inwardly cursing that he couldn't keep his face straight as the droplets of water she flicked soaked his tunic,

"It also worked," Chandra pointed out, poking her tongue out at him and grinning as he was forced to look away first, unable to face her directly as he spoke,

"Dare I ask where you got the, ah, cat material from?"

"Depends; how detailed do you want me to be?" Jace sniffed acerbically, still not quite able to meet her eyes,

"Disgusting individual."

"Just because I'm not afraid to get my hands dirty," Chandra preened before pressing on, "so how did you go from that to here, and you're with the Simic?"

"You thought the Azorius?"

"Are you reading my mind?"

"No need, everyone always assumes I'm a law-keeper," the mind-mage sighed before glancing across the room, "and before you ask I didn't know how you'd react to him either and even if I did I'm a layman – I don't have anything like the authority needed to create a combine just to pull one over on you. Spindles has been a project for quite some time, I just volunteered to find a test-home for him." Not daring to look over at the motionless spidot Chandra regarded him challengingly, her opal eyes hard and narrow,

"So how did you know to home him here and how did you even know where here was? I can guess you saw Dorun and Jara; you didn't follow them did you, or have one of your summons do it?" Placing a dried cup on the side upside-down Jace shook his head,

"I sensed them outside the 'Meet and don't look at me like that," he demanded, defensive against her accusing glower, "it's common sense to make sure we're not followed by people who might want to influence the Pact somehow, don't blame me that I can look with more than just my eyes. I found out why they were after me, and what they were being paid," Chandra gasped sharply at this revelation before glaring at his smirk as he went on, "so I let them follow me enough to tell you what you wanted to know. They earned their reward and you tagged me with that, that liquid regardless of me keeping my eyes open."

"That I did," realising this helped her consider the score between them square, perhaps even tilted in her favour if Jace was telling the truth as his trick had only worked out of luck that she didn't like spiders, "so you read where I was staying from their minds and went from there – clever".

"A compliment?" Jace chuckled despite sounding somewhat sincere, "Never thought I'd hear one of those from you. Ha, not this time," he crowed as his mana seized the droplets she flicked towards him; for an instant he was tempted to redirect them to a better target before thinking better of it, Chandra shrugging as they sped back into the sink she was currently feeling around the bottom of,

"Worth a try and for the record I'm just glad this isn't going to be the walkover I thought it was – no fun if there's no challenge. Right, that's the lot; hand me the bucket."

"Why?" The pyromancer sighed, shaking her head pityingly,

"Just when I think you've common sense as well as brains; so I can throw the waste-water out sump-head, and open the door while you're at it."

"Oh, I see; did it not occur to you that you could just boil off the water?" _He can't be... he's serious_ ;had her hands not been wet palm would have met forehead at some velocity,

"Have you ever seen it rain indoors; where's the steam going to go?"

"Out the door," she heard the characteristic creak of the wooden portal open just as a stir of wind brushed her tresses, Jace's eyes glowing faintly as he called on power of his own, "I'm sure you want to take your temper out on something by now. Boil it off, I'll make sure the steam doesn't get loose."

He was as good as his word, losing sight of the pyromancer in the sudden cloud that hissed up from the sink and engulfed her like smog. Corralling the haze with his mana Jace skilfully manipulated it out the rear door with a puff of wind, clearing the air with a minimum of fuss as he dried his hands and offered the rag forwards,

"Neatly done – that was stupid, you don't need this do you?" Chandra shook her head but took it anyway, drying it out with little more than a thought before hanging back on its small peg next to her,

"No but thanks anyway – heh," a sudden thought made her chuckle as she turned to her erstwhile sparring partner, "I just realised how, how... oh what's the word? Like a dream, it's not actually happening, starts with S; S, Su-su..."

"Surreal?"

"That's the one; how surreal this is – I don't know about you but about the last thing I expected today was to end up cleaning next to my enemy." Jace regarded her curiously for an instant before he chuckled as well,

"Very true, I didn't either; I'd consider us rivals rather than enemies though."

"There's a difference?"

"I compete against a rival, I try to kill an enemy," his tone as much as his words stopped her cold and she faced him directly, both morbidly curious and alarmed,

"You're serious?" He didn't need to nod; she could read the answer even on his disguised face, "Have you had many enemies?"

"A few but they're not people I like to dwell on"; _especially the one I should have killed, even without his mind he's dangerous_ ; the idea of his former employer still roaming the Multiverse was a constant thorn in Jaces' side as he knew Tezzeret would never let go an old grudge; _still, not now – at least Chandra won't try to kill me unless I give her a good reason to, I think_ ; "and going back to your earlier point I wouldn't have been here at all had Dorlunn not invited me to dinner – that I wasn't expecting but very nice it was too. They're a good family Chandra, good people; you should count yourself lucky you found this place."

"Damned right they are and I do; some of the flop-houses I've crashed in over the years would have a posh nobber like you run off screaming. Still dinner's over now so push off rival," she commanded imperiously, pointing towards the door to the main hall, "stop bringing my mood down until the weekend."

"Your manners or your sense of humour, I'm not sure which is worse," Jace sighed, turning away so she wouldn't see his smile before a sudden rush of movement made him look over, "ha, seems dinner's not over for one of us, in fact it's just begun." Glancing over just in time to hear the final squeak and fatal crunch of the dropping spidots' fangs Chandra grimaced, let out a reflexive,

"Urgh," and shoved the illusionist through the door, grateful to shut the hideous beast in the kitchen and glare at Jace as he recovered his footing, "you better be ready for next week mind-mage; you'll get no mercy after this, the gloves are off and the claws are out!"

"Meow," his sardonic deadpan drew a helpless snicker as she pushed his shoulder, face pinched in a playful scowl,

"Get out of here."

"As soon as I've said my goodbyes; Madam Ruz," as he poked his head into the sitting room Chandra skipped past him, quashing the urge to shove him forwards; their game had been paused at her request and breaking that agreement would have been very poor form, "my thanks for your time and the meal, it was excellent. No please don't get up, I'll see myself out – what are you up to Dorun?" Perturbed by his sudden curiosity Chandra peered in just in time to see the eldest child look up from where he was sprawled on the floor, Jara sat next to him with her spoony-doll in one hand and an old, battered book in the other,

"Working through these forms for Spindles, it's a bit hard to read; H-A-B Jara, then an I."

"Got it,"; _the dictionary_ ; belatedly recognising the book the girl was leafing through Chandra once more silently gave thanks to the fire monks' persistence in teaching her; even if the lessons had made her want to thump her head through the stone table at the time literacy was no small gift in the Multiverse. From what she knew Jariz had been in charge of educating the children and with his untimely passing only Dorun could read functionally, his mother being all but illiterate herself; _and Jace probably wouldn't even have thought of that when he handed over those forms._ Realising that was something else the mind-mage had dropped on her plate Chandra knifed him with a side-long look only for it to wither into consternation; for the briefest second something had flashed across his disguised face, gone so quickly she couldn't recognise it or even be sure she'd seen it at all. Even as she second-guessed herself she saw the mind-mage smile and had to duck back as he stepped into the room,

"I'm impressed with your work ethic but as long as you don't leave any of the doors open Spindles isn't going anywhere. Leave tomorrows work until tomorrow, I think your brother's got the right idea."

"Ah he just looks at the pictures."

"And what's wrong with that, a picture paints a thousand words as my old house-mistress used to say. In fact if you don't mind me borrowing that book and you don't mind me imposing a little longer madam, I'll show you."

Just outside the door Chandra let her face fall into her hands; _why me, and why now of all times?_ All she wanted was to be left in peace and absorb the events of the day in the privacy of her own room; was Jace taking a perverse pleasure in dragging this out? A small, spiteful part of her was tempted to snipe yes but the rest of her wasn't so petty – even given the fact his gamble with the spidot had paid off handsomely he had also given the Ruz family a pet and helped clean up after what should have been a free meal – she had no reason to suspect foul play on his part now. Of course as soon as she arrived at this reason a succession of sharp inhalations and sudden clamour for him to stop had her whip into the room itself, her instinctive fire ready but not called forth as Jace stood frozen, the small, brightly-coloured book in one hand and the other in forbidden territory,

"Is something wrong?"

"That seat master Berus," Dorlunn replied after a moment, old pain aching through her voice as she half-stood and nodded towards the armchair that had been unoccupied but meticulously cleaned since its owner had passed on, "it is not for any of us here." Jace opened his mouth to reply before catching a glimpse of the faded picture on the small table set by the side of the chair he'd headed towards and understanding,

"I see, my apologies to both of you" he said softly, nodding towards the departed before stepping back and smiling ruefully as he sank to the floor, "this will do me fine. So then, if you've a mind to listen I'll tell you a story."

 _Hook, line and sinker – little traitors_ ; Chandra groused as she lounged against the doorframe, doing her best to hold back a smile as she watched the three children shuffle closer to the mind-mage; _mind you that'll be me there sometime soon so I can't really complain – it's just a story_ ;

"We've heard them all scores of times," Dorun complained half-heartedly, pride in his age having him put up at least a token resistance that had Jace raise an eyebrow, the other planeswalker present stiffening slightly as she felt a wash of azure mana trickle through the aether,

"I've no doubt you have but books can be tricky things; much like not knowing what's on the Common you can never tell what you'll see when you open a cover. Even a book of fairy stories," she felt his summoning as he opened the book in front of him, disguising the creatures' arrival; _can't be that big, smaller than Spindles_ ; "might contain a fairy or two." _Oh very clever..._

As the children all gasped and Dorlunn craned forwards to see the small creature stood atop the opened page the firebrand had to give credit where it was due – if he hadn't had them in the palm of his hand before he did now,

"That, that can't be," Dorun stuttered, pointing at the tiny being with a shaking finger, "fairies, they're not real!"

" _What did he say?!_ "

"No," Jace hastily interposed his hand between boy and now-incensed summon, "forgive the child Melody, he knows not what he says! I'd suggest you apologise master Ruz, the sword she carries isn't for show."

"S, sorry," the child stuttered, eyes wider than those of his siblings as Jace slowly removed his hand and the fairy met his disbelief with a glower, "but, it's not like before, how you made the Porruns?" Jace shook his head,

"Not at all; see for yourself," Chandra had to bite back a smile as his summon folded her arms and glanced back at him long-sufferingly before spreading her wings and taking to the air, a succession of gasps following her progress as she hovered before the speechless boy,

" _Hand out then_ ," she demanded in her high, reedy tone, " _gotta land somewhere haven't I? And other hand to yourself or I'll use my blade, on my oath as a warrior I will_." Dorun simply nodded, gone beyond awe and past amazement as Melody landed on his outstretched palm, her frosty visage breaking as she sat down and looked up at him, cocking her head,

" _Still think I'm not real?_ "

"N, no; how did you...?"

"Magic, there is magic everywhere you look if you look for it," Jace explained gently, nodding to his summon respectfully, "Melody has been my friend for years. Magic binds us but far more than mere magic keeps us bound just as stories such as these hold families and the Thistlewrought together. So if you're sitting comfortably, let's start with this one; once upon a time, for that is how all good stories begin, there lived a good and noble queen and look, there she is."

As she felt the mana twist once more and heard a trio of gasps as her landlady's children turned and saw their mother bedecked as royalty, her plain chair glamoured into a noble throne Chandra let out a quiet sigh, catching the inquiring glance the mind-mage sent and, after regarding him coolly for an instant, nodding in resignation. _All right, I'll play my part Jace_ ; she could feel the power of water suffusing the air about them all but banked her fire, trusting the illusionist for now at least; _but gods help you next week if you make me the damsel in distress!_

Fortunately this story had no such damsel; in fact Chandra was surprised to find herself playing both villain and heroine after Jace created an illusionary duplicate of her next to the wise old vizier he himself was portrayed as. Even she had to give credit where it was due he was good at what he did; the illusionary dragon he had peer in through the window at the story's climax made the end of her hair snap into a blaze as screams rang in her ears. Luckily no-one noticed and she quickly recollected her calm, the Ruz clan likewise settled as peace was restored to the kingdom after the noble knight of pages bargained with the fearsome beast to return the princess who had come to speak with him without bloodshed after duelling and running off her evil doppelganger, Chandra dispelling the clone with a swing of the 'sword' Jace conjured for her. Settling back against the doorframe the firebrand couldn't help but feel relief as the alien mana Jace had cast over her sloughed away; even for beneficial purposes she'd never had much time for illusions,

"And that is the end," Jace finished, closing the book to awed silence broken only by Melody's wings, the fairy flying back to her summoner from Jara's shoulder and fading from Ravnica after saying goodbye, "something I'd best say as well; time must be getting on and I must be getting back – the Combine might think Spindles has eaten me otherwise." Chandra laughed,

"No chance, not enough meat there even for him," her voice broke the spell of silence over her housemates, Dorlunn the first to recover as she stood from her seat and offered the false-Simic her hand,

"I didn't believe half of what they told me earlier – now I'm about willing to believe anything you tell me," she confessed, chortling as her brood surrounded her legs and bade him farewell as well,

"We look af'er Spin'les," Klo assured him, accepting the book Jace passed back to him as the illusionist smiled,

"I've no doubt you will, I'll glad he found a good home. Others from the Combine will drop in to check all is as it should be, their visits won't take long but if you have any trouble Chandra knows where to find me," the firebrand had just enough time to glare at him before the Ruz turned to her and she nodded tightly, "so, my thanks again for your time and the meal – I'll be on my way." _Now's my chance_ ;

"I'll see you to the door," if Jace was surprised by this he said nothing, the Ruz children containing themselves to sad farewells as Jace followed the pyromaster out of the living room, down the small hallway and with just the faintest hint of a pause, through the front door she held open for him.

XXX

 _Nice evening_ ; and it was, the fading sunlight sending long shadows to play in the street as he drew in a breath and slowly released it, glancing across as he sensed someone else move up next to him and heard the bang of a door behind him. The two stood for a heartbeat, taking each others' measure in silence before at last the still was broken by Chandra's admission,

"I'll give you this much; if whatever you're doing at the Guildmeet doesn't work out you'll never go hungry as a street-entertainer."

"Two compliments in one day; I should get my fortune read," Jace joked gently, his opponent sighing in annoyance even as she smiled reluctantly,

"Don't look too far, I'd hate for next week not be a surprise; now pin your ears back. I still hate you for that oversized spider but I overhead those three talking about what happened on the common; thanks for looking after them then, and the story just now."

"They're a good family", Jace repeated himself, matching the other planeswalkers' sincerity as the pyromancer nodded, "though I have to say my tale-telling is left in the shade by your acting talents – I didn't know you knew swordplay?"

"I don't, I just pretended I was swinging at you," Chandra shrugged, grinning as the mind-mage sighed long-sufferingly, "why'd you do it though? I'm grateful and I'm sure they are too but..."

"You just answered your own question," her confusion must have shown as Jace explained without being prompted, "remember I said about only destructive magic being remembered?"

"Yeah but that wasn't dangerous; it could have been – I know you can make illusions kill – but for you that was pretty much nothing wasn't it?"

Jace was silent for a moment before turning to face her directly and once again the fire mage was struck by age seemed to suddenly possess him; _it's like being in front of one of the elder monks at Keral. You might be more powerful than most of them, even all of them, but even so you listen to them – how does Jace do the same thing, he can't be that much older than me_ ;

"I sometimes think the Spark makes us forget ourselves Chandra," he began and, as before, she paid attention without interrupting him, "we wield power the likes of which most will never know, not without decades of study or following other, much darker paths. Small magic to you or me is something your landlords will never forget, and that they remember it for good rather than ill is something I'm glad for."

"Easy for you to say; small magic for me could turn this whole district to ashes," Chandra reminded him though the underlying point of his message wasn't lost on her – more than once she'd conjured a fire in the hearth to prevent a trip out to the wood basket in the rain, or stirred the ashes to clean a grate with no fuss, "still, I get what you mean. I'm not impressed but thanks for putting our business on hold, and for drying up for me," Jace regarded the hand she extended with trepidation before realising she'd not replaced the gauntlet she'd removed to wash up, "I'll see you next week Master Berus." Snickering he took her hand, shaking it briefly,

"I look forwards to it Lady Morthone," he riposted, dodging her reflexive slap as Chandra took light-hearted offense at one of the roles she'd taken on in his story, "I leave you to the mice and the spidots that eat them."

"You are going to pay for that," she called after him, reaching for the door handle before his voice calling her had her turn around just in time to see him throw something towards her, something that broke with a dry crackling noise as she snatched it out the air; _I know that smell!_ Looking open-mouthed from her hand to the mind-mage now smirking insufferably she had just enough awareness to call after him,

"How the hell? I saw, no I heard you eat it!"

"Small magic Chandra," he called back nettlingly, the fire mage's fist crushing the biscuit involuntarily at his teasing, "I thought you weren't impressed by it?"

 _I won't kill him_ ; she forced herself to recite the mantra over and over in her mind even as she mentally ran through the numerous spells in her repertoire that could have had him blazing like a torch until he finally rounded the corner of the row of houses and left her sight; _I will not kill him – just as soon as our challenge is back on I'll make him wish he was gods-damned dead! I cannot believe... actually yes I can believe it – nice plan Beleren but it didn't work, you might have got the Ruz on your side but I've still got my dignity!_

XXX

"Friend of yours?"

"No," Chandra's stony tone crushed her landlady's innocuous question flat as she pulled the door shut behind her, "he's a lot of things but he is definitely not a friend of mine."

"So you do know him then," Dorlunn said half to herself before addressing the younger woman again, "dare I ask how your path crossed with sirriah Berus?" Chandra snorted,

"First off it's Beleren, Jace Beleren; he was going by that name to avoid tipping me off. I guess you've guessed he's the one I'm currently in a game with?"

"I had my suspicions – it's not often you volunteer for the washing up after all," the widow chuckled, her tenants' sour look only making her laugh harder as Chandra tutted irritably, "how did it start or am I better off not knowing?"

"The latter; trust me there's nothing good between me and," she checked the hallway for innocent ears, "that frazzer."

"Really, nothing at all?"

"Absolutely not; the only thing I want out of him is a cupful of tears after I've broken him in this contest," she boasted, clenching a fit as though squeezing victory in her grasp, "I bet they taste delicious."

"Probably not as delicious as the biscuit you just ate," the sardonic comment popped her good mood like a balloon, the firebrand left gaping as Dorlunn regarded her amused, "you'd have been more convincing if you'd remembered to wipe your face – sure there's nothing...?"

"Absolutely not," Chandra insisted, running her hand over her face to brush off the incriminating evidence and mentally cursing Jace once more – even if he hadn't directly planned it this was all his fault, "all he's done here is sown salt in my wounds; he'll reap a bitter crop next week!"

"Not from my house he won't."

"What?" Dorlunn met her lodgers' disbelief coolly,

"That man has helped my children against Common bullies and given us something that not only feasts on mice but also pays its way as well as you do."

"What, Spindles? You get paid...?"

"We do, and winter is coming; every coin counts in lean times," there was more than lecture in Dorlunns' tone, there was stark warning as well, "I don't care what has or hasn't passed between you Chandra but that man is welcome in my house – if he does return you will be civil unless he gives you reason not to be is that clear?"

"Reason apart from breathing you mean; fine," she capitulated, holding up a hand before Dorlunn could press her, "we agreed no-one was to get caught in the crossfire anyway. As long as he's polite I will be too."

"A harder struggle for you than him I'd imagine."

"Do you want to get rent this week?"

"Do you want to be sleeping on the doorstep with a towel over you?" Both women glared heatedly for a moment before the tension between them was broken with a laugh, Chandra clapping the older woman on the shoulder and squeezing softly,

"We both know the answer to that one; come on, let's track down those three of yours but fair warning, if it's got more than two legs I'm not touching it with an eleven-foot pole!"

XXX

 _Will you just bugger off?_ ; she'd kicked off the blanket and the window was wide open but still she was staring at the ceiling, sleep chased away by the prickling heat in her stomach; _this had better be over soon or I'm going to go insane through sleep deprivation!_ Chandra had always been keen on her sleep; what she'd done to the junior monk who'd been sent to rouse her from her monastery room after one of her first nights in Keral was still whispered in awed tones around the grounds; but despite that she'd always been a light sleeper, something she attributed to having grown up in a large family. That thought made her role over in discomfort, old memories of fire and the years of running from its consequences souring her mood further until with an effort she forced herself to focus on something else; _I wonder what Brannon is doing now? He was approaching the crossroads fast_ ; though the rules of Keral were by definition loose and free-flowing, it was generally accepted that the students usually either took the teachings of the fire monks and used them upon Regatha to earn a living or became monks themselves and her younger friend was coming up to the age where he'd have to make that choice; _and I promised him I'd be there to help. I will be – worst come to absolute worst what left for me here won't take lo... what's that?_

A strange noise reached her ears, making her roll over again and squint into the darkened room – someone was outside her door; _Klo maybe, though he usually goes to his brother if he has bad dreams._ She had nothing but sympathy for the youngest of the Ruz sibling, the poor boy occasionally plagued by nightmares, but even as she stood and conjured a flame in her palm the shadows cast under the door made her back up so fast her knees hit the bed and she flopped down onto it shuddering. The soft scratching became nails on her composure, the firebrand not wanting to see but unable to tear her eyes away from the gruesome silhouette tapping at the door, evidently wanting to be let in to the room of the one person in the house who hated him; _go away!_

She let the fire wink out, pulling the blanket up and thrusting all thoughts of the spidot from her mind, relaxing eventually as the noise stopped and Spindles wandered away, no doubt disappointed she'd not been fooled into letting him in. _Jace, I don't care how long it takes or how many favours I have to pull, I am going to win this game, then I'm never going to let you forget about!_ ; the firebrand made the dark promise as she forced her eyes closed and tried to encourage sleep to whisk her away from the nightmare now ensconced in her temporary home.

Between her churning stomach and crawling skin however, it took a long time for slumber to fall upon Chandra Nalaar that night.

XXX

A/N: Sorry it's been a while but life, you know how it is – so the ante has been upped and they're pulling out more of the tricks now; does Jace have a slight edge and if he does can Chandra pull it back somehow? And what further role could the Ruz family or Spindle-Pins, or even either of the planeswalkers' respective Guilds, have to play before this contest is concluded – to who else could they turn to get that all-important leg-up on their rival, and who will Ral Zarek irritate next?

Hopefully we'll all find out soon; card of the chapter:

Spindle-Pins, Pest Bane – Legendary Creature; Spider Mutant - GU – Reach. T: Destroy target Rat, Squirrel, Insect or Spider, then put a +1/+1 counter on Spindle-Pins – 1/3 – " _His appetite exceeded my expectations and his size exceeded Chandras' – he's perfect!" – Jace Beleren._

See you all soon; keep gaming and do your best to save Zendikar; Ulamog must die!


	6. Chapter 6 - Name and Shame

Chapter 6 – Name and Shame.

A/N: Apologies for being gone so long but love (lack of it), life (too little time for it) and Naruto (lots of it – new Win Some, Lose Some chapter coming next!) conspire against me. Hope you enjoy the chapter and the rest of the Multiversal goings-on; Zendikar is saved, two titans are dead (maybe) and Innistrad's going crazy but none of that matter now – there's a prank war to be won!

XXX

 _In two, three… out two, three_ …

It had been some years since she'd needed her breathing exercises but they still worked and for that she was grateful, eyeing the door in front of her as she'd once eyed another on Regatha. Memories of counting her heartbeats whilst awaiting the sentence the Order of Heliuds' mad master had passed on her had faded somewhat, though given what might be lurking behind that bedroom door the pyromancer half-fancied she'd rather run through a dozen white flames than come within a dozen paces of the beast now stalking the Ruz home. _If I go out there Spindles might get me but if I don't go_ ; she shifted uncomfortably on the foot of the bed; _I'll burst – damn it Jace, this is the second time my bladder's held me hostage because of you! You're going to wish you'd never been born by the time I put you out of your misery!_

Comforting herself with images of the mind-mage sobbing while she cavorted about him in a mocking dance of victory Chandra was forced to make her decision – if she didn't go now she'd forfeit half a mornings' pay from the Izzet and likely embarrass herself into the bargain, and tempting though it was to drop out the window to avoid the potential ambush the risk of a twisted or broken ankle was too reckless even for her. _Nothing else for it_ ; slamming her palms onto the bed she heaved herself upright and faced the door of destinies the same way she did most other problems; _head down, flames burning and if worst come to worst kick it out the way!_

That confidence carried her to the door, then gave her the strength to crack it open a hair and peer outside, every sense straining for the sound or sight of the spidot that had stalked her last night. The hallway was dark, lit only by the light creeping from the other doors on the first floor; her landlords were usually up and about earlier than she was; but she couldn't hear any of the Ruz children either. _Probably helping their mother, or running errands – still the crust looks thick enough to walk on – wait_ ; a sudden flash of inspiration had her tug shut the door she'd half-opened, her amber eyes peering upwards at the shadowed ceiling; _they often strike from above, but I can't see anything up there. Don't think Spindles is about after all, maybe one of the kids took him with them – heh, that'd see the Porruns off right enough. Still, never mind where that ball of hair and horror is_ ; opening the door cautiously but growing bolder as nothing rushed out the darkness, the firebrand swung her right foot out into the hallway; _let's get out while the going's go…_

She realised her mistake the second it was too late to stop – her weight had gone too far forwards and all she could do was cringe as the consequences of not checking one of the cardinal directions made itself known with an audible splat. Expression crumpling at the realisation she'd really put her foot in it this time all Chandra could do was squeeze her eyes shut and mercilessly wrestle down the abject misery that threated to spill tears of desolation down her face.

It wasn't until years after the event that she'd begrudgingly admit, even to herself, that in this endeavour she wasn't entirely successful.

XXX

"Bad news or even worse news?"

"Bad news first," the firebrand decided irritably some hour or so later, having made it to the Izzet without further mishap and tracked her way to the now-familiar niche Buuthes' team had carved for themselves in a corner of the sprawling boilerworks. Glancing down at her friend with both concern and sympathy the team leader, now officially denoted by a small blue sash tied around the collar of her guildmage robe, addressed the only laywoman of her staff a little away from the others, both to grant Chandra a little privacy and hopefully head off the worst of the explosion if the pyromancer took the news badly,

"We were a little late putting our petition in for the drying furnace yesterday so we got one of the older, slower ones," the Izzet guildmage explained, crossing her fingers as Chandra glanced up at her, "so the next batch we were hoping to have this morning won't be turned out until midday."

"Which makes me as much use as a fart in a cyclonic rift until then," the pyromancer sighed, already knowing where this was going, "pointless getting me involved in the wet-work, I'd boil off the water I was working with even without trying."

"Too hot for your own good," Buuthe commiserated with a sly glance up and down her friends' armoured figure, grateful to see Chandra smile slightly even if she rolled her eyes, "but you're right, there's nothing for at least a few hours, just get your head down or get outside for some fresh air if you need it. Apart from that though, second thing"; _I just hope this works_ ; despite being a friend to the fire mage Buuthe nevertheless crossed her fingers and hoped Chandras' temper, already strained by biology, held, "word's come down the tubes the whole 'works is due a usurers' audit soon. I'm sure we're in the black; we certainly will be when the Niv-dust gets ratified and goes on sale; but the higher-ups are petrified of being caught owing zilos so until further notice they've decided the laymen are, or will be ah, unable to claim higher than the normal rate…"

"Brilliant," Chandra's dismissive growl cut through her guilt-ridden ramifications like a bolt of fire through paper, "miseries are never single, they always come married with spawn!" Wincing as she watched the redhead rub her temples through her google straps Buuthe tried to offer a crumb of comfort to an otherwise bare table,

"Sorry Chan, I really am – no-one wanted to ruin your day but it had to me, wasn't fair…"

"And it wasn't you," the fire mage cut her off again, dropping her hands to gaze at her friend with a tired smile, "my day was ruined way before you got to it".

Shaking her head, the shorter woman motioned for the planeswalker to budge over from the end of the bench she was perched on and then sat beside her, the crimson of her guildmage robe offsetting the russet of her friends' hair nicely as she threw an arm around Chandra's shoulder,

"Go home Chan," she said gently, the pyromancer not resisting as Buuthe drew her into a sisterly, one-armed hug, "I can get you a half-days' pay and chalk the rest off as sickness, your fire's done more for this research team than any three furnaces put together. Get yourself off until that curse is over, trust me you'll feel better for it."

"I do trust you," Chandra murmured, resting her cheek against the top of her friends' crown and closing her eyes to relax in her friends' embrace; though Buuthe didn't know her true nature as a planeswalker, trust was still a valuable commodity Chandra rarely bestowed on anyone, "but it wasn't that, or you, that made me regret waking up today. People I live with," she explained, feeling Buuthe twitch away slightly as she tried to catch her explanation, "got themselves a new pet recently, yesterday in fact."

"Really?" Slipping back a little as their embrace ended naturally Buuthe regarded her friend in slight confusion before she made a sudden connection, "Don't tell me you're allergic to it?" Despite herself Chandra chortled; _well I don't want to be anywhere near Spindles unless I have to be - I suppose I am in a way_ ;

"Nah, nothing like that; little frazzer left a present outside my bedroom door," memories of limping down the stairs and half-scrubbing, half-peeling the tactile mess off the sole of her leggings made her feel queasy even now, "a squidgy mouse between the toes first thing in the morning's enough to take a shine off an angels' halo, never mind mine."

As she'd expected Buuthe regarded her with amazement and then chuckled, something Chandra couldn't help put begrudgingly join in with even as she gave the Izzet alchemist a love-tap on the shoulder,

"It's not funny," her own grin undermined that statement even as she made it, something Buuthe couldn't help but notice even as she returned the pyromancers' gesture of rough affection,

"Only you Chan, only you; I meant what I said about half a day though, you've got my word on half-pay at least." The firebrand shook her head before shrugging,

"I'm here now, you might as well get some use out of me – besides while I'm here I'm not sharing a house with the Ruzs' little pest. Might as well get my head down for a bit, I've not been sleeping well."

"I thought you looked tired; to do with… yeah, happens with me as well," Buuthe confided, recalling that her next visit was due not too far in the future with a sense of foreboding, "you're prepared? A lot forget," she defended herself at Chandras' sardonic look, "you'd be amazed how common it is here."

"I'm hardly a child Boomer; might act like one sometimes but I've not been one for years. Yes, I'm prepared," she assured her friend, tapping high up her thigh where, out of sight under her tunic, several pomanders of scented spices and pads of honey-laced wadding were strapped in readiness, "no need to worry – go back to mothering your team you clucking hen, wake me up when there's something around I can burn or heat up."

"You should be grateful I'm a hen hot-head, you'd get cold legs otherwise," Chandra's scowl at the below-the-belt nickname was broken by confusion as Buuthe stood up, then again by gratitude as she caught the cloak the woman cast towards her, "wrap that around you, it gets in the way when I'm working."

"Thanks Boomer," the firebrand called back, unstrapping her pauldrons as she slid backwards along the bench and kicked her feet onto it, sweeping the guildmage robe over them before reclining, as comfortable as it was possible to be while still wearing her chainmail.

Laying back and focussing on the ceiling; _and the red pipes now covering bits of it – it's a legacy I suppose_ ; with her friends' gift keeping her lower half warm Chandra opened her ears and nose and was soon lulled to sleep as though rocked in a cradle, helpless against fatigue in a place that felt so familiar. In its chaos of explosions and ashes, of flame, boiling water, raised voices and shouts of celebration the Izzet boilerworks sounded and smelt a lot like another place far from Ravnica, somewhere even a planeswalker such as she had been accepted and welcomed.

Chandra's body slumbered upon Ravnica but in her dreams she swept over plains of magma, clouds of ash billowing into the sky at the eruption of another of the fire-mountains that framed the seat of learning within the mountains, Jaya Ballads' greatest legacy to the Multiverse. Place of mediation for the fire monks, famed repository of fire lore and fortress of barely-organised chaos Keral Keep stood firm and proud in her dreams, the place she loved above all others; somewhere she would kill for, somewhere she would die to defend…

… _Home…_

XXX

 _I should start sleeping through the day more often_ ; as the thought drifted across her mind Chandra paused in tapping her quill against the side of the clipboard she was carrying and nodded after an instants' musing. The unexpected nap she'd been recently roused from had refreshed her more than she'd expected and a share of the team lunch Hori had been shooed out to get from a nearby pastie shop; _though it'll be my turn tomorrow, best remember that_ ; had raised her spirits further, enough to pay attention to what Buuthe was saying and scribble fast enough to get most of it down semi-legibly,

"…the reactions of the aqueous suspension should, with luck, give us a new colour of dye to work with, got all that you pair?"

"Yep," Hori answered for both of them, discreetly wiping his grease-stained fingers on his apprentice tunic as he watched the large metal box, looking like he was trying to stare through it to the untold riches within, "that's a hundred chief."

"Thanks Hori, just give it ten more in case, I'm not sure exactly how long it'll take some of those vapours to vent safely," Buuthe had always been a little more cautious than many of her Izzet peers, probably why she was assigned to a project such as this rather than the flashier, more high-profile experiments; _though having said that, nearly a year with this team and she's not lost one yet. Well, apart from Moeg but that was his own fault – even I know better than to just open a furnace door without touching it first to see how hot it is._

"Ten more done chief."

"Good, stand back you pair," Chandra and the smaller figure beside her, Hori being several inches shorter, not to mention a few years younger, than she was obediently shuffled backwards as Buuthe donned a heavy gauntlet and snapped a pair of clear goggles over her eyes, her free hand pressing a clean rag to her face as she gripped the handle of the drying furnace and slowly, as though almost afraid to see what lay within, tugged it open.

From her taller vantage point Chandra was able to get the first glimpse, grimacing as a head of black hair obscured her view and silently commiserating as her friends' shoulder slumped; _sorry Boomer, not this time_ ;

"Make a note," the team leaders' tone was somewhere between resigned and disappointed, "adding salt and powdered chalk in solution to the basic dye mix doesn't give white paint, not that we were really expecting it to. Suggestions as to why Hori?"

"Uh," caught on the fly the apprentice electromancer stuttered before shrugging, "maybe the chalk wasn't reactive enough to bind to the dye, or the salt wasn't a good enough medium for it to happen? Maybe we should try acid next time, a weak one?"

"Possible but I'd rather not use corrosive until we've ruled out everything else – Chandra, you all right there?"

"I think so," despite her words the pyromancer didn't stop squinting into the still-opened door of the furnace, "I could have sworn… here hold this, and this," perplexed by the sudden request Buuthe stepped aside and meekly accepted the clipboard passed her way before quickly seizing the firebrands' tresses as Chandra leaned into the vessel, holding them clear of dropping onto the door and sweeping up dye. Going up on tip-toe as the taller woman forced herself further forwards the Izzet guildmage pulled her stomach in as she was forced to lean over her friends' back, her questioning tone strained by the effort,

"What are you doing in there?"

"Thought I saw something," the answer was echoing, distorted by ringing around the furnace innards and ended in a chuckle, "heh, this brings back memories hey Boomer?"

"What – oh," even as her cheeks pinked as she realised what her friend was driving at the memories made the team leader smile ruefully, "yeah, that was a night to remember."

A sudden snicker made her glance over just in time to see Hori, regarding the spectacle before him with amusement, mouth 'good night' and give a wicked smirk before her fierce glare had him look away semi-innocently. Feeling Chandra pressing backwards the guildmage retreated, dropping the thick coils of hair she'd preserved from going redder than they naturally were and speaking as Chandra drew herself up her full height,

"What was that all about Chan – you shouldn't go sticking your nose in…"

Whatever Buuthe had meant to say was lost to history as Chandra silently offered forwards the forefinger of her gauntlet, all conversation ceasing at the sight of the small smudge of brilliant blue that besmirched it. Silence reigned for a moment, the sight even drawing Hori closer as the Izzet apprentice took in what he was seeing and, more importantly, what it meant before at last the stillness was broken by a small, squeaked question,

"Where, where did you get that?"

"I thought I was seeing things from back there," Chandra admitted somewhat self-consciously, "so I had to check. I think there's more, towards the back in a little crack the-hey, watch ittt!"

She was just quick enough to grab the back of her friends' tunic as Buuthe all but sprang at the opening, desperate to get her hands on this new discovery; slowly releasing her grip by inches Chandra found herself left holding curls this time, carefully craning over the Izzet mages' rear to make sure her black hair wouldn't get sudden highlights,

"And you tell me to be careful," she chided with a snicker, "and this really does bring back the past." Her recollections of holding raven hair back and away from the danger zone were broken, however, by a sudden loud snort, Hori hunched over as he regarded the pair of them,

"Good night was it?" He inquired cheekily, raising an eyebrow at their odd position, "Though that way round looks more believable; out the two of you I reckon you'd be the one pushing Chandra." Nonplussed the firebrand could only cock her head before goggling at his meaningful pelvic thrust; _he thought we… – oh he is ashes!_ ;

"Buuthe," she growled lowly, half-hauling her friend out the container she was scrabbling around in "scratch one electromancer!" As her fringe became consumed by a red glow Hori took a step back before rallying as he called on his own power, a meagre flicker of white lightning racing around his fingertips as he adopted a pugilists' stance,

"Bring it firefly, I'll put a frizz into even your locks!" Flaring up even as she silently commended his bravery Chandra would have started the barbeque had not a sudden shout brought both of them to heel,

"You'll do no such thing either of you, not on the verge of a breakthrough," Buuthe's voice was commanding but still tinged with awe as she cradled the mere handful of blue dye, still mixed with red, she'd scooped from the crevice Chandras' sharp eyes had spotted, "I'm an idiot, complete fool for not seeing it earlier – it's not the aqua solutions giving the dye its colour, it's the metal that does it!"

"The metal?" Hori echoed, former quarrel forgotten as Chandra also took a step back, "But there's no… the electrum!"

"Yes, the electrum," Buuthe confirmed, castigating her blinkered blindness as all the pieces fell into place, "that was the key ingredient for the red colouration of our previous batches – I should have seen the colour was a lot darker after we started adding it. And now this," she carefully gestured to the small pile in her hand, "you were right Chan, there's a scratch in the furnace, the electrum's cracked and this dye reacted with the metal underneath it; it must have been the copper that made this colour!"

"Copper?" Looking from the pigment to the outside of the furnace did nothing to help Chandras' understanding of the alchemy involved, "But copper's not blue, look at it."

"Electrum's not usually red either but look up," Hori chipped in, pointing to the steam pipes overhead, "the dye structure must hold the metal somehow if what guildmage Buuthe is saying is right, that's what gives it the colour."

"Supposedly but we won't know that until we get another test batch made," Buuthe spoke aloud and half to herself before standing tall to give her orders, spirit ablaze with the potential of this new discovery, "Hori I want you to start shovelling out this furnace and then hold it, don't let anyone else use it – climb inside if you have to but don't let it slip away, there's no telling when another might come up. Chan you and I are going back to the others and preparing another batch but replacing the electrum with powdered copper, the same concentration for now – if this works we'll have pretty much cracked it, it'll be a case of tweaking the carrying agent and preparation but changing the metals to get the colours we want. This could be huge, district-shaking if it works, oh and before I forget – Hori," the apprentice gulped as the guildmage rounded on him, looking stern, "please don't insult or cast aspersions about your fellow team members, you'll live longer that way."

"Fine, fine," the electromancer held his hands up before looking between the two women again, expression querying, "though I have to ask what memories were you two going over just then? Nothing against it either way but you're not, or weren't…?"

"No," Buuthe and Chandra said together, glancing at each other before looking away as the elder of them explained, "it was the night I earned my guildmage tunic, just before Chandra had to go back to the Fourth District. My old team all went out to celebrate and we raised hell down the Phantom Alley, crawled the whole length with a tankard in each tavern and paid for it next morning," she admitted, shuddering at the memories even now, "oh gods did we pay for it next morning!"

"Phantom alley," the thought of anyone, least of all the sensible guildmage before him crawling down that notorious night-spot injected awe into Horis' voice, "the whole way?"

"Every step," Chandra confirmed, thinly amused at the youngsters' goggle-eyed shock, "though Boomer paid for it worse than me; guess who was left holding her hair back while she was talking to the Golgari down the privy?" Hori looked between them again and chuckled,

"That's where you find out who your friends are – you didn't suffer though Chandra?"

"Nah, believe it or not I was sensible," it was one of the few areas of discipline she took deadly seriously; though content to drink around friends the fiery planeswalker was careful to never go too far for fear of what she might reveal under the influence; _plus, alcohol and fire do not mix – that brewery on Dominaria was proof of that_ ; "the rest of them were lolling about like Swarm zombies, I was fine."

"And she never let us forget it," Buuthe groused, pricked by the reminder, "bloody hollow legs." Chandra grinned,

"Useful things to have."

"Especially when they're that size," Hori agreed, smirking again as he pointed to the firebrands' thighs, "hold half a keg each if they'd hold a drop."

Despite herself Buuthe snickered at the joke, then winced on the younger Izzets' behalf as he folded over the firebrands' fist like an empty sack; _still he did ask for it – only one way of curing stupidity in apprentices, let someone or something blow or beat it out of them. Though that's far enough_ ; seeing the ill intent writ large in her friends' scowl as she scragged the smaller figure by his collar and took a step towards the still-open furnace Buuthe raised a hand,

"Sorry Chandra, no murdering apprentices on my team please; I've a good safety record I'd like preserved." The pyromancer snorted, shaking the groaning boy she'd hauled onto tip-toe,

"You told him to hold the furnace."

"After he raked all the dye out," Buuthe reminded her, sparing Hori a glance and grateful to see him heaving down air, "and if he were to expire in there it'd mean huge amounts of paperwork for me and a black mark on your record if you ever applied for an apprenticeship of your own."

"Like that's going to happen – ow!" Chandra leapt sideways and shook suddenly numb fingers as her victim tottered, then caught his balance despite his aching gut,

"Told you I'd take you on firefly," he croaked, meeting Chandra eye to eye, "don't care about your fire, you'll remember fighting Hori Julai."

"No doubt," her tone conveyed anything but as she turned a disdainful look from the boy to the team leader, "luckily for you though Buuthe has more important things for me to be getting on with. Apologise or you'll walk out of here the same colour as that Guildless frazzer did two weeks ago." Hori snorted at the reminder but nevertheless nodded,

"Fine, fine I'm sorry but you pair did look odd."

"No doubt but maybe this'll teach you to keep your mouth shut until you can back up your smart talk," Buuthe cut in as impatience sank fangs into her, "now we've all got our jobs, let's get them done and get this last batch in – no idea about you pair but I've a home to go to!"

Suitably chastised both pyro and electromancer nodded, Chandra falling in at her friends' shoulder as Hori reached for the long-handled shovel kept near the forge. Careful to avoid spilling the first flakes of this serendipitous discovery Buuthe didn't run as fast as she wanted to but kept an even pace, something that unfortunately gave Chandra time to think of something to break the silence,

"Mouthy little git isn't he?" Buuthe chortled, glancing across at her,

"You have got no leg to stand on there, hollow or otherwise; half a chance and you'd turn the air bluer than this pigment."

"True," Chandra had never been one to hide her flaws, "still, what he said about us is that… you know, common here in Ra- in the Tenth?" _Almost blew it_ ; luckily, despite quirking an eyebrow at the question, Buuthe missed her stumble in favour of shrugging,

"They really are sheltered in the Fourth," she muttered before fielding the awkward question, "it's not unheard of, mostly people don't ask. What folk do behind closed doors is their business, no-one elses' place to judge."

"I guess not," Chandra agreed before glancing at her friend askew, "sooooo…?"

"Would I be waiting for guildmage Zarek to open his eyes if I was?" At the reminder of the silver-haired man she'd only even seen fleetingly Chandra shook her head as the pair of them snorted with laughter,

"Nah, not that I know him but Zarek looked fine," Buuthe nodded, her thoughts turning dreamily towards the Izzets' Guildmeet representative until a sudden engulfing hug from her side made her squawk in protest, "but if he doesn't come around you know I'll always love you right?"

"Gerroff!"

Once the last of the reagents were mixed and left to stew overnight in the furnace Hori had stood guard over Chandra quietly excused herself from her anticipatory teammates, emerging from a nearby privy a little later with perfume of spices surrounding her. From there she was sent away for the night with her coin pouch jingling, Buuthe refusing to hear her protests that only luck had let her see anything at all and granting both her and Hori a small bonus, something guaranteed to let her make both rent and a little extra for the week. There was no sight of Spindles within the Ruz home and, as she relaxed in the hot bath she poured herself prior to dinner with afters to celebrate banishing her ghost for another while the fire mage thought back over the day and smiled; _from shite to silver – guess it really was worth getting up this morning!_

XXX

 _I hate Dimir reports_ ; though Jace could read ciphers almost as easily as he could anything else it was still a delay that added up, least of all when you had to read through reams of them. Since the existence of the once-mythical tenth Guild had been proven and dissolved his paper predecessor the secretive Guild had since become a regular part of Ravnica, albeit a part most regular Ravnicans didn't see unless they were so deep in the sump even the Golgari would have a job finding them. Still their parun kept them on a tight leash and, despite his misgiving and the harm both he and their former Maze runner had done to not just him but Emmara as well, they were nowhere near the thorn in his side they could have been even if he didn't know the full extent of their clandestine activities.

Closing his eyes and grimacing as lines of complex symbols chased each other over the back of his eyelids the mind-mage cast them from his mind for the moment; he'd have to finish this one off at home. The Guildmeet earlier hadn't been as smooth as he'd have liked, Tajic and Exava almost coming to blows over an illegal carnival the Rakdos had hosted the previous evening within earshot of Sunhome. The Boros had wanted those responsible handed over to the Legion, Exava had offered him the corpses of those already punished by the Cult and it had all gone downhill from there…

"You don't know how lucky you are I don't have a quill on me."

"Evidently not," he answered the presence he'd sensed a few seconds ago without opening his eyes, "you certainly sound happier than last time we met."

"Of course, why wouldn't I?" The fire mage trilled, her musical tone broken only by a slight squeak as she pulled a seat out for herself, "I am a genius after all."

That boast did make Jace look over, though to his slight consternation Chandra wasn't where he thought she'd be; rather than sit directly opposite him as she had before she'd taken a seat on his right hand side, answering his question before he even asked it,

"Not a hope after last time; fool me once and all that."

"Indeed," the mind-mage mused before recalling her earlier claim, "though given your new title I shouldn't think I'd catch you with the same trick twice; let it never be said you've a low opinion of yourself." Preening in her newfound glory (even if she still claimed most of it was luck Jace didn't need to know that) Chandra merely grinned,

"It's not just my opinion, it's the Izzets as well."

"And they've just sunk in my estimation," Jace nettled, hiding a smirk badly as his opponent puzzled through his words and scowled, "can you tell me what prompted this bout of insanity from the League or would you have to kill me afterwards?"

"Since when's anyone needed an excuse for that?" The fire mage muttered darkly before turning her attention to the paper slightly offset to him, "Still chewing your way through a library Beleren – you know reading too much will send you as blind as too much tight-fisting will."

 _Damn it_ ; despite himself the Guildpact reddened slightly, something he knew Chandra had seen and wouldn't forget in a hurry; _damage control it is then_ ;

"I wouldn't comment too much on my less-salubrious hobbies – indecent exposure is a crime in this district you know?"

"Only if you get caught," Chandra reminded him, chalking them up as even whilst trying to read the paper next to him from a ninety-degree angle, "what is that cock-scratch anyway, some kind of code you Guildmeet nobbers use?"

"It's a code all right, I get a lot of these as I can usually break them quite quickly," Jace told her, sweeping the note up and reaching for his satchel, "don't read it for too long, you'll get a headache."

"Sounds like you're speaking from experience," the pyromaster pointed out, slightly concerned despite herself – though Jace didn't appear much different she thought she could pick out faint bags under his eyes and the shirt he was wearing seemed a little looser-fitting than normal, "you look knackered."

Jace didn't answer immediately, instead regarding the firebrand with an expression somewhere between confusion and agreement as he nodded,

"Just a little tired, been dealing with these reports all morning," Chandra had a suspicion he wasn't being entirely truthful but let it slide as she watched the parchment disappear into his working satchel, "how about you though? I meant what I said earlier, you certainly sound better."

"Feel it too, no thanks to that frazzing pest of yours," she suddenly remembered, lancing him with a dirty look, "after what I stepped in earlier you owe me a new pair of leggings."

"I did warn you to look low," Jace reminded her, amused, "how is Spindles settling in anyway; are you two seeing eye to eyes yet?"

"No and the longer I'm not seeing him the happier I'll be," Chandra assured the other mage venomously, holding in a shiver at the thought of getting that close to the mutated fly-catcher, "if the children didn't like him so much never mind the mouse he left outside my bedroom door I'd have been scraping him off my boot, followed swiftly by you."

"Now that's just petty, his coin's as good as yours," though he'd not spoken to Vorel directly since taking the combine off his hands, Jace knew the Simic were punctual when it came to paying their debts, "and if he were to end up buried chances are you would too if those three thought you had a hand in it."

"And Dorlunn would probably help, he's good at what he's supposed to do," the firebrand admitted grudgingly, "you'll likely get your first report sometime soon if I remember it, hand it to whoever's jerking your lead will you? And why are you with the Simic anyway," her mind ran like a flame from Spindles to the guild that had created him and Jace's apparent part in it, "you were right when you said about the Azors, they seem more your type of kindling."

"They do but in all honesty I went for the Simic for a change – I deal with paperwork for a living, you think I really want it in my spare time as well?"

"You've never actually told me what you do for a living,"; _though seeing what was on that paper I'm not sure I want to know – I've seen more sense in hellion trails_ ; "far as I'm concerned the only thing paperwork's good for is feeding a fire."

"Hence why I'm a little concerned about the League calling you a genius; Niv-Mizzets' medication may need tweaking again," even as she scowled at the jab Chandra snorted; few in the boilerworks talked much about the parun of their guild but she'd heard enough to know the draconic overlord of the Izzet was haughty, proud and little given to taking insult, "but to answer your question the Simic was a nice relief from the day-to-day. Have you ever been inside a combine?"

"Wouldn't even know where to look for one – what's it like?" Jace mulled this over for a moment before looking at her directly,

"Surprisingly similar to the Izzet believe it or not, though there's more living nurseries and combi-vats than steamworks there. I find it rather peaceful there; well, as long as there's nothing escaping and trying to kill us all and assuming I actually get there in the first place; sooner this Festival's been and gone the happier I'll be."

"Working you hard is it?"

"And the rest,"; _thought so_ ; as the reason for the mind-mages' worn look became obvious Chandra hid a smirk behind her gauntlet, though Jace was too pre-occupied venting to see it, "I'll be lucky to make my lay-tithe this month. All the guilds want their reports in before the date is set…"

"When is it – hey," her upturned palm defended her from his sharp look, "you said it was still in the air last week."

"Still is now," Jace groaned, another cause of his headaches bubbling to the front of his mind as he massaged his eyes, "it'll be in four weeks but the exact day is still being hammered out, hopefully we all should know by next week. Anyway back on topic we've been working all the hours the gods send just to keep up and, lucky me, I get stuck with the Dimir reports half the time; you saw what one of those looked like earlier." Chandra cocked her head at this before the sight of his satchel strap jogged her memory and forced a wince,

"Ouch," she commiserated before shrugging, "so you won't be applying for apprenticeship any time soon then?"

The hand that covered the illusionists' face lifted and the firebrand stilled for a heartbeat as she suddenly noticed something, a tiny fact that nevertheless blasted an old assumption to ash – Jaces' eyes weren't blue. During their duels they'd blazed with his aqua mana but now, sitting close to him, she could clearly see they were the same shade of grey as a rain-laden cloud. They also seemed… older, if that was the right word, than they should do for someone his apparent age, though saying that there had been times recently where he'd somehow seemed ancient and sage when he'd spoken… she glanced away hurriedly as those grey eyes narrowed, not wanting to be accused of or, worse, caught staring,

"No," he replied in a measured tone that had Chandra fearing the worst for an instant before it mercifully broke into informality, "and even if I did have time joining any guild would lose me my job. Have to be Gateless to work where I do, the accusations of bias would be loud enough to stir the Obzedat otherwise."

"And that's our job," the red mage snickered, remembering several memorable occasions within the boilerworks and the golden rule of the Izzet; _forget tunics and titles, anyone running like hell waving their arms has immediate seniority_ ; "leave the explosions to the professionals. Bit of a shame you're not with the Azors mind, I'm sure Lavina was heartbroken when you put on the blue and green." In the face of her knowing smirk Jace shook his head, smiling despite himself,

"Breaking her heart would involve finding it first…"

"Ohh, snap," Chandra punched her gauntlet into her fist at his cutting denunciation, "what's it worth that doesn't get back to her?"

"She'd probably take it as a compliment," Jace pointed out, neatly trumping his opponents' ace before moving on, "and aside from that she's a friend, has been since we got that fire business sorted out. And just for the tally-books it's Lavinia, there's an extra I in there."

"Don't be pedestrian."

"I think you mean pedantic."

"That too," Chandra bulled on, not letting the stumble over the word soup slow her down, "still 'Berus' I suppose the Simic suits you, that critter you came up with certainly does – quiet, sly, you'd forget it was there until it runs across the floor and frightens everyone."

"Everyone scared of creepy-crawlies at least," the illusionist pointed out before facing his fiery counterpart directly; Chandra had the impression that he was sizing her up but before she could decide between questioning him or taking offence he'd spoken, "though when it comes to guilds suiting people you're not really one to talk; you fit the Izzet so well the only other guild I could see you in is the Gruul."

"Thanks very much."

"That wasn't an insult," his tone cut off her indignation and forced her to pay closer attention as he went on, "I, or we as a whole don't deal with that guild as much as the others but when we do they remind me a lot of you." Chandra leant forwards, expression neutral but tone serious; how he answered her next question would likely decide if he walked, limped or crawled home tonight regardless of their game,

"How?"

"Honestly?" His lips twitched but his voice was sincere, if a little playful, as he regarded her fully, "You're both honest."

 _Honest?_ ; the word lost her, though in truth she'd never had anything to do with the Gruul – what she knew of the wild guild was based solely on rumour and hearsay. She knew they were outliers, living in the wild areas of Ravnica to a creed of kill and eat or be killed and eaten but that was about all. Certainly few in the Thistlewrought had much nice to say about them – proclaiming someone to be a Gruul there was asking for a thump,

"Alright, I'll bite," she held her hand up after a few puzzled seconds, "explain and brace for the forthcoming beating if it's rude."

"And of course you could _never_ be mistaken for one of the clans-folk," Jace teased mildly before relenting at her scowl, "but in a way you've just proved what I said. When the Gruul, be they a tribe or an individual clansman, says they're going to do something that something either gets done or they give it their all trying, and most importantly they do it themselves. They don't, or very rarely use deceit, bribery or cats-paws, they know their strengths and use them to the fullest, damn the rest – tell me that's not you in a nutshell."

"I can't," Chandra admitted after a seconds' thought, storing the information away before shrugging, "might have to look into them if that's true. You seem to know them well for someone who's not had much to do with them though."

"Meeting one's an experience you don't soon forget,"; _or want to repeat_ ; forcing the memory of that fight against his then ex-employee and later fellow Maze runner away Jace suddenly recalled the inquisitive nature of the pyromancer before him and sought to defuse an issue before it might arise, "though if you ever do go looking for them consider this forewarning; the Gruul are even more literal than you so pay very close attention to what they say. More than one of my co-workers has come undone from a misinterpretation; poor Finni hasn't been the same since the last time the Stone-Crush tribe sent us an envoy."

 _I know what you'd doing_ ; she could feel the urge, no it was more like a vehement need rising from within and despite his placid expression she knew Jace was counting on it; _well it's not going to work. I'm don't need to know, I'm quite happy just sitting here…_ ;

"What happened?" _…rats!_ ; as the fire mage cursed her feeble willpower in the face of a good story Jace at least didn't have the good grace to gloat too obviously; in fact he glanced around before leaning forwards, lowering his voice to avoid being overhead as Chandra mimicked him,

"This is going slightly off hearsay; Finni works in a different department to me; but the first thing you have to know is that most Gruul envoys are women, or at least female – they're generally better accepted in the, ah, domesticated areas of the city. Second thing to know is that when we get envoys and other visitors from the various guilds they're each assigned a chaperone to prevent them wandering off or walking into envoys of other guilds, that can get messy. Finni was assigned to the Stone-Crush woman and he must have done a good job; unfortunately he didn't know the Gruul well enough not to nod when she asked 'we mates, yes?' Must have thought it meant she saw him as a friend – poor man couldn't walk straight for a fortnight after she was through with him, and the broom closet on the second floor's still being repaired..."

Later on the firebrand would feel peculiarly grateful they hadn't yet ordered anything; she might well have choked or drowned otherwise as she was racked by coughing barks of mirth,

"Yo, you're joking," she managed between bouts of the giggles, trying to spot the lie in his face, "thahahat just doesn't happen." Jace shook his head, chuckling slightly himself,

"When it comes to strange things I've seen in the Guildmeet that wouldn't make the top ten," Chandra hugged her stomach, desperate not to laugh out loud; somehow his sardonic tone was boring through any potential standoffishness like a rasp, "and again she was honest – she wanted him, she went and got him. The Gruul are good like that, it's some of the other guilds you've got to watch out for; the Rakdos for example, they didn't endear themselves to the higher-ups a couple of months ago – we all enjoyed it but bugger all work got done." _Damn it_ ; even as she screwed her face and will up together Chandra knew it was a wasted effort; _stop giving me lures like that, I can't turn down a good story_ ;

"Dare I ask?" Jace held up a forestalling hand,

"Business before pleasure – I doubt either of us are here to concede…"

"Absolutely no chance," the firebrand assuring him, humour suddenly buried under challenge as she looked him straight in his grey eyes, "I just got back in this game Jace, no way I'm laying down now."

"Glad to hear it," and much to his surprise Jace realised he was sincere when he said those words; _I actually am looking forwards to it, I put a lot of planning into this – 'Vinia was right about me needing a hobby_ ; "so before we start swapping tales of work," he scooped up the nearby menu and Chandra did the same though as a ghost-like touch swept over her she paused, glancing at the blue mage suspiciously but deciding to hold her tongue for now; _what did you just cast?_ ; "let's get something to eat."

XXX

Scanning the menu did nothing; she already knew what she was eating; but as Jace set down his small, bound cover and she saw a uniformed figure shuffling over she leant in quickly to ask,

"What did you just do?"

"Huh, when?"

"Just now"; _make it quick_ ; the waiter, a familiar one, was almost at their table with a stranger shadowing his wake, "you cast something, what?" Jace opened his mouth to answer then saw the glance she flashed over his shoulder, mouthed 'later' and then turned in his seat in time to greet a semi-familiar figure,

"Munz, good to see you again."

"And you sir," the boy, a faint tufts of fuzz standing out on his cheeks as he moved inexorably towards manhood, replied before pointing to his companion, one that made both planeswalkers look twice, "unfortunately I won't be at the _Weird_ much longer with any luck so I'm training up my replacement. This is Gippa, he'll be your table-boy today." Suitably introduced the other figure stumped forwards and unhooked a pencil from behind one pointed ear, dexterous green fingers twirling it as a mouthful of fangs beamed up at them both,

"Sur, ma'm, what'll you be 'aving?"

 _Goblin waiters?_ ; Chandra was only grateful she was sat furthest from the two, otherwise she'd have definitely been caught staring; _just when you think you've seen it all..._ ;

"Ah, good day Gippa, I'll just have a round of toast, heavy-bread and…" Jace's voice snapped her back to herself in time to butt in timely,

"You won't," as the mind-mage looked at her in consternation she glanced at his loose-fitting tunic, "get something half-decent down you, you look like you're about to blow away in the wind."

"Sometimes that sounds like a beautiful dream," the illusionist muttered before mentally conceding he was rather peckish, "make it two rounds and a sweet-cake for a side, Scrapings with the toast though." The point of his thick tongue poking through his teeth Gippa quickly jotted down the order before nodding and looking at the other table occupant,

"An' fer the lady?" Smiling whilst quashing the urge to send her rival up in smoke as his breath hitched in a smothered laugh at the title Chandra glanced at the menu one last time before deciding,

"Soup to start, then a hellion steak with salad side, potatoes fried if you can, boiled if not. Want to split a pitcher of spiced wine, it's cheaper than two goblets' worth?" Caught out by the sudden offer Jace could only blink before quickly nodding; _why did I do that, I hate wine? Too late now though_ ;

"Fair enough."

"Pitcher of spiced wine then Gip, got it?"

"How'd you take steak?"

"Medium and well-seasoned," the goblin finished his jotting and then nodded at the pair of them, retreating with the order and Munz in tow, the human muttering words neither of them could hear to his protégé as Jace turned to his companion appraisingly,

"Hellion steak; last of the big spenders aren't you my lady?" Chandra merely chortled, even the title not irking her as it usually would; the illusionist wasn't needling her so there was no need to skewer him in turn,

"Can't take it with you," she said in a carefree tone, Jace considering this for a moment before conceding to her logic,

"I suppose not, though medium? I'd have thought you ate everything well-done including the salad." Chandra pulled a disgusted face,

"Well-done steak's like chewing shoe leather," a sudden question popped up in her mind, "do you even eat meat?" Jace nodded,

"On occasion, though I prefer my steak blue if I can get it."

"What's that?"

"Five seconds each side then plate it up." The fire mage blinked, regarded him piercingly for a heartbeat and then recoiled slightly as she realised he was telling the truth,

"Urgh, that's horrible!"

"Never done me any harm," Jace shrugged affably though Chandra was still far from convinced,

"Might as well hunt it down yourself – ha," she suddenly exclaimed, pointing at him over the table, "and you say I'm a Gruul with that kind of appetite; well isn't that the fairy calling the djinn an airhead!"

The mind-mage thought about this for a few seconds before raising his hand in submission, Chandra clenching a fist at the point scored before readying herself to field his riposte,

"Maybe so but you have to admit that aside from the Izzet the Gruul are your other choice; you're not bloodthirsty, crazy or broken enough for the Rakdos and the Boros," he looked over at her and chuckled, no malice in the mirth as he shook his head, "no, just no." Chandra snorted, tossing her hair haughtily as she folded her arms,

"What, don't think a lady can fight?"

"You're no lady and I know you can fight – they could probably make a skilled sword or spear-woman out of you given time – but them trying to teach you discipline and drill? I'd give it less than a day before you were crawling up the walls."

"Or blowing them apart," the pyromancer reminded him, smirking at the mental image of rushing to freedom through a cloud of brick-dust, "I'd do a lot worse to get out of somewhere like that. Wouldn't mind visiting the Legion but I sure as hells couldn't stay, though forgetting all that for a minute back to my original question – what did you just cast?"

"Cast? Oh that"; _she's a lot more sensitive to mana than I remember_ ; Jace honestly hadn't expected the brash woman to pick up on his subtle unweaving; _must be a side effect of her growing stronger in her mana, though I didn't think pyromancers usually cared about the crafty side of magic_ ; "I didn't cast anything, I took one down. It wasn't anything important, just a small spell to keep prying eyes away. It directs attention elsewhere, makes people look away, no more than that – it didn't affect you because you were specifically here to see me and saw straight through it."

"That's, useful"; _not to mention impressive – I never sensed any weave of a spell he already had prepared. I'd better start getting here earlier if I can't sense what he's doing_ ; "wish I'd known a spell like that before now."

"It has its uses," Jace agreed before the womans' nod alerted him to other things and by mutual, silent consent the two of them ceased their conversation in favour of the food laid before them by a pair of green, knobbly hands.

XXX

The soup was warm, though slightly sweeter and more pungent than the bowl she'd enjoyed during their last meeting; taking another mouthful and breaking her bread with her free hand Chandra paused for an instant, spoon in her mouth as she glanced across at the other planeswalker again, her eyes drawn to his tunic,

"You're not eating well," she said bluntly, Jace going still with a piece of toast halfway to his lips, "I've seen clothes-horses with more meat on them, and toast for midday? You're not sick are you?" Despite himself Jace was somewhat touched by her concern; _and truth be told I have missed a few meals – first thing I'm doing during the carnival is going to the nearest vendors cart and stuffing myself stupid_ ;

"No I'm not, honest," he proclaimed under her unblinking gaze, going on only when the fire mage nodded minutely, "I don't tend to eat much during the day, never really have now I think about it. And it's not like I do anything strenuous for a living; a box of scrolls is about the limit of my physical labours, days when half-crazy pyromaniacs ram-raid the Guildmeet excepted of course. I carried you into the office but that was all," he elaborated as Chandra's eyes flared at the reminder of her defeat and, worse, its aftermath, "Lavinia would have had my balls if I'd even thought about trying anything while you were out."

"Didn't stop your perversions when I woke up," the firebrand muttered caustically, Jace left to silently fume; _I am not a damn pervert!_ ; "though given the size of you it's no wonder you need your victims tied down. Just as well that Stone-whatever girl didn't take a shine to you – first bounce would likely break you in half."

"You being an expert in such things of course," he cut back acidly, the fire mage flinching as the shot told before quirking an eyebrow as he drew himself up in his seat, looking a little proud of himself as he rolled his shoulders languidly, "and just for the tally-books I'm not shy of admirers where I work."

Chandras' snort almost painted her freckles with her soup, her sudden grin almost slipping out from under the hand she clapped over it as she shuddered with restrained laughter even as a worm of guilt began to core into her hilarity; she better than most knew how unkind laughter could be,

"So, sorry," she managed, glancing at him for an instant before looking away, amber eyes warm and creased with mirth, "I wasn't laughing at you, it's just," she exaggerated his rolling shoulders, "come on, you couldn't expect me to keep a straight face." Jace's expression was harsh for just long enough for her to feel cool sweat bead on the back of her neck before it mercifully cracked and he smiled with her, chagrined,

"It's not the easiest thing to believe but it is true; I'd like to say it's for my body, mind or winning personality but I'd be lying." Chandras' brows furrowed for a moment before inspiration and the answer struck,

"Your work?"

"Got it in one," Jace sighed, "every Guild wants an edge and a few, in fact most of them aren't above seduction, the Gruul being one of the few exceptions most of the time. It's mostly a nuisance or done in fun but the ones you really have to watch out for are the Orzhov, Rakdos and Golgari."

"First two I can understand; nothing comes free from the Usurers"; _you don't know how right you are_ ; much as Jace enjoyed his meetings with some of the Church, Teysa first amongst them, their unflinching creed and utter disdain for mercy, freedom or tolerance was as repugnant to him as it would be to Chandra, "why the Swarm though?" Jace's smile was half-haggard, half-traumatised,

"Given the state of most of them you have to get uncomfortably close to pick out the Golgaris' living envoys from the dead ones." The soup in Chandras' stomach did a mushy backflip as she gagged, holding up a hand to stop him going on,

"Urgh, no more; I want to finish this!"

They finished their first course in silence, broken only by the quiet glugging of wine as Chandra poured them both a measure of spiced wine from the pitcher and the clatter of plates and forks as Gippa cleared the table after they finished. Sitting back in her seat Chandra stretched slightly, rolling her neck and rewarded with a faint crack as she rested her elbows on the table and ignored Jaces' tut at her lamentable manners,

"So," she tried to think of something to break the ice but her ideas ran dry, "about the 'Meet then, what do…?"

"Must we?" Jace's sigh overrode her half-formed question as the mind-mage regarded her forlorn, "I just got out of that place, I don't want to talk shop. You tell me something for a change; gods know you've had enough laughs out of my mishaps already, how about I hear one of your stories for a change?"

Chandra remained silent for a long moment and not just because of his request; instead a realisation was echoing around her mind – she was sitting beside, talking to and sharing a meal with a virtual stranger. _I know next to nothing about him and vice-versa_ ; the thought was both chilling and strangely intriguing – she'd never had peaceful contact with another planeswalker for this long before; _though in Gideon's case most of that was my fault. I don't know exactly how much Jace knows but it can't be that much – we've had one duel opposed, one duel side by side and both lasted minutes, apart from them we've not met before now on Ravnica._ She wasn't sure if she wanted to laugh or shiver at the revelation but before she could decide someone saying her name from what seemed like a long way away made her blink back to herself,

"What? Oh, sorry," she gave a sheepish grin at her companions' concerned expression, "lost in thought, and before you say anything yes I can think that hard."

"I wasn't going to say anything"; _liar_ ; she could see it written on his face as plainly as his tattoos; _where did they come from anyway – they can't be a Guild mark surely, unless he was thrown out of one?_ ; "dare I ask what was on your mind?"

"I, uh," despite herself she squirmed a little, not quite able to meet his eyes, "I just realised I, or we don't know each other, not really anyway." To her surprise Jace nodded,

"No we don't; to be honest that was one of the reasons I invited you here in the first place Chandra", he took a fortifying sip of wine, hiding his grimace at the unpalatable taste as the other magic user scrutinised him, "I don't know many others like us and of those I do know most of them are enemies of mine," there was a sudden flash of venom across his streaked face that made the fire mage jerk backwards but when she looked again it was gone and Jace was himself again, a man both weary and strangely hopeful, "you though, with you I wasn't sure given our fractured history. I was half-prepared to dine alone after I sent out that invite; in a way I'm quite grateful you suggested this game we're in," his chuckle was half-rueful, half-sour as he looked at her directly, "I'd wager a good deal of this months' salary that this is the longest I've spent in the company of a planeswalker who didn't want to either kill me now or betray me later."

"Don't be so sure about the killing bit," even as she said it Chandra knew the threat meant nothing, his words as much food for thought as the forthcoming steak would be for her belly, "but I'd have to agree about others like us; gods know none of us I've met have been easy to get on with, me least of all."

"I couldn't possibly say," Jace said sardonically, a smile playing over his lips as the firebrand flicked her tongue out at him whilst reaching for her wine, "but you've changed a little since Zendikar, lucky for me I'd probably still be knocking the soot off now." Chandra's answer to this came with a spray of deep red liquid, the firebrand almost choking on her drink and glaring at the other mage as he reached forwards before, realising she'd recovered, offering forth a napkin,

"Frazzer," she hissed lowly, taking the cloth and wiping the plum fluid off her chin and doing her best to bite down on a smile, "you did that on purpose!"

"I did no such thing."

"Liar," she denounced semi-dramatically, Jace for his part folding his arms and looking truculent,

"I'm an illusionist, that doesn't mean everything I say is a lie. In fact," after a seconds' thought his grey eyes suddenly radiated triumph and despite herself Chandra edged backwards, "tell me one time I've lied to you, and don't say Keral," his speed undermined her immediate answer, "that was a fight I was trying to end quickly, I just wanted to get the scroll and get out of there and that illusion seemed the best way to do it. Come on then pyromaster," the smugness in his grin made the firebrand clench her fists but she just about resisted the urge to go in swinging as he beckoned her on, "you've called me a liar, prove it!"

 _Damn, damn, damn_ ; thoughts and memories tumbled through her mind but almost as fast as they came up she discounted them out of hand – not for the first time her tongue had tricked the rest of her into paying for its razor edge. The inside of her armour prickled but she resisted the urge to rub at any of the itches; she wouldn't let Jace know he had her on the run as she forced herself calm and began to think, putting her memories into some sort of order. Keral was out, as was Zendikar; they'd barely said anything to each other there anyway; so it was up to Ravnica to get her out of this mess; _he works here, that's true, he said… those recording spheres? Not really a lie, how about, no wait, the sphere, I was in there and he said about the mana and…yes_ ;

"Mana," she exclaimed triumphantly, only just remembering to keep her voice low as Jace waved frantically for her to sit down before she made any more of a scene. Hastily bottling her excitement she quickly directed it at another target, explaining herself with glee as she beat the mind-mage at his own game,

"In the 'Meet, after I woke up, you said mana couldn't pass through that sphere I was in but you lied. You spoke in my head, I heard you." her tone dripped with victory as Jace's expression fell but to his credit the mind-mage rallied little, meeting her exultant smirk levelly as he made to admit defeat,

"True I did, as you put it, speak in your head…"

"… _but that wasn't using mana_."

Chandra looked around at the voice in her ear; luckily no-one was passing behind her as she suddenly whipped back around so quickly her tresses almost cracked the air,

"You…" she began, trying desperately to sense for even the faintest ripple in the aether, unable to fully contemplate what Jace was telling her as he nodded, "…that's _normal!_ "

"For me, yes," the illusionist admitted, fragments of old memories bubbling to the surface regardless of how hard he tried to hold them down, "I think, no I'm pretty sure it's been that way since before I… travelled for the first time."

"You think?" Chandra echoed, still not entirely sure she believed in his supposed gift; _speaking through minds, is that telepath or telekine, I can never remember_ ;

"My memory was jarred by my first 'walk," he said guardedly and, recognising dangerous territory, Chandra let it drop, memories of her own ignition still painful even after all this time, "but I've always been able to talk as I do, glean information from minds even when I don't want to; I do remember getting into trouble for that when I was young."

Clinging precariously to a ledge with only doom below him was one of the few snippets of memory Jace had of his home plane even if he couldn't recall what his tormentors looked like. Banishing the thought he glanced up as his companion chuckled slightly, Chandra looking at him anew before glancing aside self-consciously,

"Getting in trouble, you're not the only one," she admitted, recalling some of the falling outs she'd had with her family before…; _don't think about that now, I'm having a good time – don't spoil it_ ; …her ignition, "hard to think a goody-goody employee like you ever got in trouble though – must be the Spark that does it."

"Must be," Jace agreed before, seizing his courage, he took a plunge for the sake of potential knowledge, "actually Chandra, regarding that there's something I'd ask you if you don't mind."

"Ask what you like, if I don't like it you'll spend the rest of the day picking your teeth off the pavement." Rolling his eyes at the threat while channelling a sliver of mana just in case the illusionist faced the pyromancer squarely, offering forwards his long-held idea for her scrutiny,

"I have a theory about the Spark," he began, grateful to see Chandra paying attention even as she sipped her wine, "I believe that it marks, somehow, those who bear it ignited or not. I can't prove it; I've never asked another 'walker; but I've seen enough to guess something about us all is slightly different. My mark is obvious," he tapped his temple, "from even before I could 'walk – can you shed any further light on this? Was there anything that made you stand out even before you became what you are now?"

If he was hoping to see the answer in her face he was to be disappointed; despite her exuberant nature Chandra could imitate a stone rather well when she needed to. Steepling her fingers in front of her she glanced down at them, then at something else before looking at the expectant man opposite her,

"You could be right," Jace could hardly contain his excitement at her words despite her uncharacteristically colourless tone, "just wait a minute, I think the main course is here."

XXX

Gippa took two trips to deliver all the food and condiments, though to his credit Munz didn't need to step in at all as the goblin inclined his head and backed away, leaving the two planeswalkers alone with their meals. Regarding the slightly-steaming bread and inhaling the aroma of melted cheese over his halved squech-fruit, a Ravnican dish known as a sweet-cake, Jace reached for his fork before Chandra's voice made him pause,

"Make sure no-one's looking." _What? Oh_ ; even as he looked up confused he realised what the pyromancer meant and worked his fingers into complicated patterns under the table, sending out a small pulse of mana to re-establish his earlier blanking illusion. Chandra must have noticed it too as the small candle on the table burst into flame, the tallow starting to run at the merest touch of her molten mana. Even as he glanced between her and it Jace was alarmed to see her reach for the fire with her uncovered hand, moving to grab her wrist,

"Don't," he stilled at her command, seeing the sudden steel in her eyes as she slowly passed the tip of her littlest finger into the flame. Expecting the scent of roasting flesh Jace held his breath only to gape a few seconds later as she withdrew it; only the faintest smudge of red was left as a testament to her exposure to the fire. He glanced between her hand and the candle, stopping only when he heard her voice again, still far colder than the fulsome tones he'd come to expect,

"Where I grew up we used to pile the rubbish and refuse in stacks off the floor," staring into the flickering fire the pyromancers' eyes flashed gold, red and auburn in turn as she recounted a past she'd long forbidden herself to think of, "when we had enough the adults would set light to it and we, me and the other children, we'd dance through the sparks. It was a game, or a dare; how close could you get and not get burned – no-one ever got closer than me. I stopped playing when the fire awoke inside, practised it in secret while the others chased the embers, but I've never forgotten that game, I just never thought about it until now."

Jace said nothing to this; what could he say? He wanted to commiserate with her, share a snippet of his own past but most of that was buried and lost and almost all of what remained was tainted by treachery, deceit and worse things. His hand came up, he wanted to lay it on her closest shoulder just to convey he understood but before he could gather the courage there was a puff of air, smoke coiled up from the smouldering tallow and Chandra was herself once more, only the slightest hint of sorrow tinging her smile betraying the memories of a painful past,

"Looks like you might be right about that idea Jace; never really thought about it before but fire's never touched me, and I don't really burn when my spells cock up either so that's something to be grateful for."

"You never thought about it?" Jace parroted, cocking his head before suddenly laughing, "Your hair's a bonfire half the time and you never thought about why that didn't hurt?"

"I usually had other things on my mind when it was," she snapped back waspishly before snorting and rubbing her recently-warmed pinkie, "still you can add that one to your tally-books but your theory still needs work – want me to write a list of other 'walkers I know?" Jace shuddered,

"Oh hells no, I've got enough trouble on Ravnica as it is, the last thing I need is to invite more in from outside."

"Trouble?" Chandra's smile deepened with slyness as she leant forwards, "Tell me more."

"No chance; actually yes chance," Jace contradicted himself as he recalled his earlier bargain, "I've given you a few stories from my work; amuse me and I'll tell you the big one, the Rakdos invasion a few months ago." Cutting into her steak the fire mage regarded him with a quirky smile as she popped the first forkful into her mouth; _mmm, that is heaven…_ ;

"'Muse you 'ow?"

"Swallow first but anything – come on," he said coaxingly as Chandra tried hard not to give the game away, "you must have a few good stories even if you stayed in that monastery all your life."

"Monastery he calls it; how well do you know Keral? Place is chaos given form at the best of times and the people in it aren't much better, me least of all," she admitted with a small shake of her head, searching her memory for a suitable story; _yeah, that should do – bit embarrassing but what the hell, and if his story's not as good he'll know about it_ ; "alright, here's one for you. I'd not been at the Keep all that long and was still a girl near enough, young enough to be stuck with kitchen chores at any rate. The former head cook Wallion, fire keep his soul warm, got it into his head to try and teach me cooking…"

"…so the frazzing thing shook itself, downwards," drawing her story to a close Chandra shuddered as Jace did his best not to howl with laughter, grateful his enchantment was still up so none would see him hunched up in his seat like a fool, "the soot went everywhere; we were covered, the kitchen was caked for weeks and don't get me started on the food we were preparing. And of course I was right in front of the chimney when it happened; when it settled all you could see of me was my smile, just as well given Wallion was roaring about skinning me alive as soon as he caught hold of me. I managed to sneak out the kitchen but ran straight into Mother Luti, though she was only the eldest sister then; she had to scrub me raw to get all the black off and back then I wasn't fond of the bath. I've never set foot in a kitchen since."

"L, Lucky for the kitchen," Jace managed at the second attempt, wiping his eyes as he regained control, "in my experience very little black food ever tastes good, the exception being before me of course." Seeing the small pot next to the now-cold toast that was the mind-mages' second course Chandra wrestled her curiosity for a heartbeat before tapping out,

"All right, I'll try anything once," Jace merely looked puzzled until she pointed to the unpierced container, "spare me a crust and give this Golgari dining you're so fond of a go."

"I'd finish your steak first, it's got a very strong taste," the illusionist explained as he cut a corner of one of his bread slices, setting it to the side, "if you don't take kindly to it you might well spoil the rest of your meal, a shame for both you and hellion it came from."

"Very true," Chandra agreed, by now halfway through the tender meat and pausing to savour another mouthful, "so, amused enough?" Jace nodded, still grinning; regardless of her flaws the fire mage was an accomplished tale-teller and he'd committed that misadventure to memory,

"Very much so; all right here it is the worst, or at least most unusual day I've ever had at work. I'm not sure how it started," that was a lie but a convenient one; at the time he'd brushed off the previous Guildmeet where the challenge between two Guilds was struck, a mistake he'd not repeated since, "but the Orzhov and Rakdos were butting heads, gods know why, and it came to us. Now the Church as you can guess is big into bribery and, sure enough, we had several donations come in after their proposal reached us – not unusual, happens almost every time and it's up to our internal department to make sure none of us are on the take…"

"Headed by Lavinia, with an extra I, of course?"

"…How did you guess?" Chandra merely shrugged coyly before motioning the mind-mage to go on, "But anyway, a few days of this and it looks like the Orzhov have the proposal in the bag, I mean how can the Cult take them on economically? They can't and they didn't; I was in my office when it all kicked off but from what I heard later half a dozen coaches pulled up outside they day before the proposal was due to be put before the Pact and the Cult swept in."

"They attacked the Guildmeet?" _That took bottle_ ; the idea of one of the Guilds actually rebelling was frankly terrifying, though a sudden imagining of how Jace might handle the peace-talks made her smirk suddenly, "Let me guess once it was over you dealt with the ringleaders, especially the young, pretty ones, personally?" Jace's brow furrowed until he felt a tap on his shin and was left glowering as Chandra's boot slipped back under the table,

"No I did not and will you let that go"; _probably not_ ; he could tell by the look on her face that was an axe that was never getting lifted from his neck, "and anyway there wasn't much I could do; they, ah, they didn't attack us exactly, they weren't regular cultists."

"Didn't know there were types of Rakdos – who were they then?"

"They, er", Jace began, not quite able to meet her eye, "they were the Cult joy-girls."

Chandra blinked, blinked again and Jace was just fast enough to re-inforce his binding – her sudden eruption of laughter would have drawn the attention of everyone within earshot had his enchantment not muffled it,

"The, they were…" she managed before dissolving into helpless mirth again, "… c, coaches of them…"

"Yes, all delivered with one mission in mind, sway the decision the way of the Cult. It worked too"; _mostly because nothing could get signed off in the confusion and in the next 'Meet Teysa withdrew the Orzhov claim. It's against the rules now_ ; that measure had been voted through primarily by Lavinia's glower, the arrestor having borne the brunt of the chaos and in a merciless mood; _just as well given Tey admitted she wished she'd thought of it first, though it was almost worth it to see Mirko and Ral proclaiming 'we're not worthy' to Exava_ ; "it was madness."

"M, madness? That was brilliant," Chandra gasped, picturing the scene and shuddering with laughter, "what a prank, oh that must have been hilarious to watch."

"From a distance probably; you'd likely be singing a different tune if you'd been caught in the middle of it." Chandra glanced at him with a tear-filmed eye, smirking as she realised what he hadn't admitted to yet,

"And where were you in all this; manage to sweet-talk one of the invaders into laying down her arms and taking her boots off did you?"

"I am really going to make you regret bringing that up; no, I was under my desk and every concealment enchantment I know praying to whatever gods exist none of them found me."

"Horse," Chandra declared, some of the fun draining away as she denounced his account, "a horde of half-naked women rampaging around and you're hiding in a cupboard – don't believe it."

"Half-naked Rakdos women; you'd have been in hiding too if you knew what those girls are capable of," Jace muttered darkly as a shiver swept through him, "I'm not risking a game of Rakdos roulette for anyone."

"Rakdos what?"

"Roulette – oh, you wouldn't know," Chandra's nonplussed look made him explain further even as belated doubts about whether this was a good idea for a conversation filtered into his mind, "it's a game; you and an opponent put six daggers in a sack, shake them up, then one of you pulls a blade out and stabs himself with it. Five daggers are fake one isn't; pull a fake and you drop it back in the bag; guess which player wins?"

"That's a game?"

"It used to be, it's been illegal for decades now," Jace explained, discreetly crossing his fingers and hoping she'd forget about it as he moved on, "so that was it, the best and worst day I've had at the 'Meet. Lavinia and the others eventually rounded them up and shooed them out, or most of them at least. A few of us have suspicions some of the departments squirrelled a few of the girls away in a niche somewhere; some of the accounts department always seem to have a smile on their face regardless of the weather or how much work they've got on."

"Good for them if they can afford it – what's Rakdos roulette"; _of course_ _now_ _her memory is flawless_ ; "the Cult doesn't still play it do they, some of them look like the type."

"Some of them do play roulette I'm sure but Rakdos roulette, it's kind of a Ravnican myth," Jace wheedled before sighing at the fire mages' expectant expression; _well, you asked for it_ ; "six joy-girls, but one's had her teeth filed."

She didn't understand until Jace made a subtle but obscene gesture then she crumpled in on herself, simultaneously chuckling and shivering at the image despite the obvious gender difference,

"That is _not_ right," she declared, feeling gooseflesh rise as she tried to force the idea from her mind, "it's not real, it can't be!"

"Not the roulette, probably, but it's based on fact; the shark-tooth special is characteristic for many Rakdos assassinations – I've seen the pictures." Her jaw literally dropped,

"What the hell…?"

"I didn't believe it either, Lavinia convinced me otherwise," he confided with a reflexive twitch as Chandra just about controlled herself and straightened up,

"Damn, guess you were right about me and the Rakdos; I'd burn a man to death but that's just… urgh."

"It is indeed 'urgh' as you so eloquently put it," Jace agreed before looking her in the eye and smirking slightly, "but what made you think all the victims were men?" At the insinuation Chandra went pale and shrank into her seat, legs crossed tighter than Orzhov purse strings as she hunched over; _should I say…ah why not, might as well hang for a dragon as well as an egg_ ; "unpleasant to be sure, but oddly enough most of the victims died with a smile on their face…"

"Don't," the pyromaster squeaked through her knees, almost in the foetal position in her chair, "Jace don't, that's just… eee-yee, I'll be sleeping with a saucepan between my nethers tonight! Talk about 'enter with care', yeow!" The mind-mage let out a helpless bark of laughter, recovering as the pyromancer unknotted herself from the ball she'd been curled up in, still shivering,

"Your unusual choice of bedpartners aside, have you had enough?" Chandra looked at the scraps of meat and drips of juice left on her plate and, given the images currently running through her mind, nodded,

"Yeah," setting down her knife and fork she looked across at him half-ruefully, half-annoyed, "that just ruined my appetite thanks."

"You did ask; still, let's see what you make of this."

 _Huh?_ ; for a second she thought he was reaching for the pudding menu until the flash of steel in his hand jarred her memory; _oh, I almost forgot – hey!_ ;

"Stingy," she complained lightly, Jace pausing from dotting the small black blob he'd scratched from the Scrapings pot onto the corner of bread he'd held back,

"You don't need much; believe me if you don't like it you'll be grateful there's not much on here." He offered the morsel forwards, Chandra taking it to examine this mysterious foodstuff more closely. It looked like congealed lava and, as she gave it a careful sniff, smelt not much different though there was something else there as well, something… yeasty maybe; _Jace said he thought brewing had something to do with it. Ah well, it didn't kill him_ ; that the mind-mage was still alive would once have been a cause for concern, now it was just another fact as she licked her lips and in a single movement threw the bread into her mouth and started to chew.

Despite appearing pre-occupied with his wine goblet Jace had kept his eye on her trying the new food and winced at her rash actions; _too quick Chandra_ ; as her expression dropped through the floor he bit his lip in an effort not to laugh; _now you have to pay the price_ ;

"Oh gods," desperate for something, _anything_ to take the unholy taste away Chandra seized the wine pitcher, drenching the top of her tunic with splashes as all but upended it down her throat; after violently rinsing her mouth out she spat the wine and cud of bread back into the pitcher and stared into it, airing out her stinging tongue as she looked from it to the smirking illusionist, "that is _vile!_ How do you eat that rot?"

"Quite easily; love it or hate it, there's no in-between," Jace reminded her as she sucked her tongue; _I can still taste it!_ ; "I'm going to assume you're not a fan of Golgari dining then?"

"Scrapings," Chandra hissed the word with a vehemence usually reserved for either interfering hieromancers or haughty willbenders, "what do they scrape it off, zombie feet? I take it all back there is something wrong with you – there has to be to suffer that muck willingly."

"Maybe I have a sense of taste…?"

"If you'd eat that without a knife at your throat I refuse to believe it."

"...I did say maybe. Still time's getting on – have you had enough or will your genius stretch to a third course?"

"My genius will, not sure about my stomach, or my tongue after your sludge poisoned it," Chandra sent the now-empty jar and black-edged knife a venomous glare before turning back to him, "try that in any prank in the future and they'll be investigating your mysterious disappearance until some poor rot-farmer drags your carcass out of his vat of home-brew."

Backed up by her most ferocious scowl Chandra thought she'd made her point as the blue mage glanced away, then she noticed his shoulders were shaking and there was a sparkle in his eyes as he faced her again,

"Sorry, I should be terrified but it's hard to take a death-threat seriously from someone I've seen almost wet herself laughing; told you I'd make you regret bringing it up," he sing-songed infuriatingly as the tips of Chandra's hair started to smoke, the fire mage leaning forwards menacingly,

"Are you saying I'm not scary Beleren?"

"Inside I'm quaking," he assured her irreverently, thinly amused by the war between anger and forced calm being acted out on her face as she snarled, her eyes flashing along with her goggles as they locked with Jaces' own,

"Perhaps you need reminding just how terrible I can be!" The mind-mage shook his head,

"Believe me that's the last thing I need; I've known since Regatha there's little in the Multiverse scarier than an angry Chandra Nalaar…"

"And don't you forget it, I've been…"

"…though given our recent history I know now there's little more appealing than a laughing, joking one."

A devil made him say it then ran away cackling; he could blame the wine, the atmosphere, the position of the stars it didn't matter – what did matter was that if he didn't have a good explanation for that statement when Chandra overcame her slack-jawed shock the Guildmeet was likely to be looking for a new mediator very shortly afterwards,

"What?" Time was up, his mind was still blank and the Regathan was hunched forwards like a wildcat poised to spring though she didn't seem angry as such, more shocked; _and I know how she feels. What was I…never mind, say something or this game is over – wait, the game…!_ ;

"Well it's true," Jace could only pray his carefree tone hid his jangling nerves as he uncharacteristically went for broke; _if she takes a swing she loses – I'll tell her that when she cools off_ ; "never really thought about it before but there's definitely some kind of charm about you when you've not got a face like thunder, and don't pout," calling that razor-lipped glower a pout was stretching the term to breaking point but he was too far gone to pull back now, "that elevates you from 'appealing' to 'cute'." Chandra's eyes and hair flared and he flinched despite his readiness for pain but to his mingled relief and disappointment she didn't swing, not yet, her grip on her temper tenuous but there still as she leant forwards further and growled in his face,

"I am _not_ cute!" _Now or never – no turning back_ ; despite his natural caution screaming this was a bad, possibly suicidal idea he did it anyway, reaching forwards and pinching her cheek whilst trying to avoid the flaming strands framing her face,

"Most adorable little dragon on Ravnica," he crooned in a sickly-sweet tone even as his heart threatened to thud its way out of his chest; the fire mages' likely reaction didn't bear thinking about and he was sat right in front of it.

There was a second, Jace would remember it perfectly, before his opponent reacted and in that second Jace would always recall the firebrands' eyes, the first time he'd seen them so close. They were, he knew, copper-coloured when they weren't smouldering with her inner fire but the expression that burst through them at his words had Jace's fingers fall slack to his side – for the briefest second they shone with a very visceral and very naked hurt,

"Chandra," his voice was a breathless whisper as he registered that sudden pain and, worse, recognised it intimately, "I…" It was gone, smothered by a cold anger that slammed down over her eyes, over her expression, over her whole being as she stood up so suddenly he almost toppled backwards,

"You're paying."

She was turned and away before Jace could recollect himself and even then what was he supposed to do? Part of him wanted to go after her and apologise, or ask what was wrong, another part to call after her and a hundred other parts to do a hundred other things; paralysed by indecision the Living Guildpact was still for what felt like a long time, the events playing over in his mind as he castigated his stupidity; _though how was I supposed to know she'd react to that? It wasn't the touch_ ; her eyes had widened at the unexpected contact but only started to radiate pain at his words; _does she not like dragons for some reason – can't be Bolas, she's not left Ravnica since I told her about him. The dragon-mage from Zendikar – ah, no point_ ; trying to second-guess what had triggered her so badly was a wasted effort and would likely give him a headache; _I'll see her later and set things right, perhaps send a missive at the end of the day? Yes, that should do_ ; thinking about what to write took his mind off the dogs' dinner he'd just made of what had been up to that point a meal in surprisingly pleasant company; _just pay up here and then go ho… no_ ; as he fished for his coin pouch he studiously avoided looking at the empty chair to his right, the realisation he was now ahead in their game filling him with sourness rather than cheer; _suddenly I don't feel much like going home right now._

XXX

Her anger, if whatever was swirling in her stomach even was anger, sustained her the length of three streets, its last drops expended to duck into a secluded alley where she leant against the wall and ground her gauntleted knuckles against her forehead; _damn it, damn it to all the drowning hells why did you have to call me that? He can't have seen it, he just can't have – why did I flare up that badly?_ Chandra wasn't sure if knowing the answer or the answer itself was worse – Little Dragon, how long had it been since she'd heard that name? Her grandsire, her kind fathers' father passed on before her sisters were born; she couldn't even remember his face, just a vague memory of trying to lace her boots over and over in front of his seat and a nickname coupled with a gentle touch on her cheek. Touching the skin that had caused past and present to fuse Chandra squeezed her eyes shut, gritting her teeth to deny both tears at the memory and a scream at what it had done – she didn't run from her ghosts any more, least of all ones she'd never carried in the first place. Focusing on her harsh breathing she sought control over her emotions, to calm the storm the stupid mind-mage had caused; _no that's not fair – Jace didn't do this, not on purpose_.

Her attempts at self-collection were jolted as a hefty measure of guilt rolled into the mix roiling in her stomach; the shock writ large on the Ravnican's white-streaked face was as crystal-clear in her mind as the fact she'd left him with the bill again. It had been going so well, the illusionist surprisingly good company throughout the meal; in equal measure he'd made her grumble, cringe, laugh and think, then in a few sentences he'd touched a raw nerve she'd forgotten she'd had and it had all tumbled down; _but getting out of there was the only thing I could safely do – on the bright side at least I didn't thump him._ She'd have done so before in younger years, especially anyone who'd dared utter the C-word around her; _and that's something else I'm going to have to come clean about_. Palm met face once more as that realisation sank in but even as she groaned in frustration a self-effacing smile slipped over her lips, broken a few seconds later by a rueful laugh as she remembered long-past growing pains.

Fate had seen her take after both her parents, their combined features leaving their pyromantic daughter with, to quote abbot Shrovi, 'a face so cute old men like me want to ruffle your hair and young women like Luti want to squeeze your cheeks and put you in a dress', a fate worse than death for the young tomboy. Few of her peers at Keral hadn't walked away singed or smarting after calling her by a sweet pet-name but that had been then, when she was a child who's only goal was to learn about fire and not be called cute; it wouldn't suffice now. Jace deserved more than a hasty departure and a lighter wallet; she'd have to explain, apologise and pay him back for the food she'd skipped out on, especially after he'd been considerate enough to suspend hostilities on her behalf.

But not now; even if part of her wanted to go back and explain face to face that might well do more harm than good and that was assuming Jace hadn't already left – no, better to finish sorting her head out and the best way for her to do that was in good, honest fire, not by lounging around in this alleyway like an off-duty joy-girl; _least of all if one of the Rakdos has staked it out. What did Jace call it, the sharp special?_ ; the exact name eluded her but even the thought of it made her tremble; _when it comes to nasty ways to go the Cult might be able to give Enervants a run for their money!_ Chuckling at the thought and heartened she was looking back and laughing rather than hurting Chandra pushed off the wall and left her temporary refuge, heading towards the one place on Ravnica she'd be allowed, even encouraged to unburden herself of her worries the best way she knew how, so cheered by her plan of action to patch things up with the mind mage she didn't sense the whisper of mana dissipating as she strode through the streets towards the distant boilerworks.

XXX

 _Don't blush, don't blush_ ; repeating the words like a mantra in her head the junior guildmage sought to stave off severe, possibly terminal embarrassment even as her senior seemed determined to make her break that command – when she'd been directly behind him as he leant across one of the workbenches to examine a sample she'd been sure blood was about to start squirting out her ears; _thank the gods the rest of them aren't here right now…_ ;

"You did all this yourself?"

"Yes," caught off-guard by the question Buuthe's voice was a squeak before she regathered herself and cleared her throat, "yes master Zarek, many of these sample bottles and glassware were designed and created by my team." The right hand of Niv-Mizzet looked over his shoulder at her,

"Call me Ral," Buuthe's heart leapt into her throat; that smile could have tempted an angel to sin, a female one anyway, "how long have you had your team?"

"We've worked together for nearly two years, most of us, under master Salarus. I've taken over while he's recovering but only tagged the blue to my robe just over a week or so."

"Yeah, sorry about that," the senior Izzet mage had the good grace to look abashed as his lax paperwork reared up to bite him, "bit swamped up top at the moment with this audit and everything."

"It's quite all right Mas… Ral"; _I called him Ral, I really did just call Master Zarek Ral!_ ; "we've stuck together for a long time most of us, though Hori's new and we're breaking him in slowly."

"Lucky him," Zarek grunted with feeling, repressing memories of his apprenticeship with a shudder, "my first job was scraping rust off the lightning coils; when someone waves a red flag hit the deck, that was the warning I got, and you know sometimes they even waved the damned thing before they started charging them just for a change."

"It was the slag-heaps for me," Buuthe admitted in turn after wetting dry lips, "lucky I wasn't there long though, master Sal…"

"Hey Boomer," instincts long-honed to react to loud noises had both Izzet mages leaping for cover as the source of the commotion came closer, "got a furnace spare I… oh, sorry."

 _Oops_ ; with her attention fixed on her friend she noticed the other figure by her side too late, wondering why he seemed familiar before jolting in belated recognition. The last time she'd seen the Izzet maze-runner he'd been in a helpless, laughing heap on the floor and she'd not been far behind but this close the fire mage could definitely see why he held Buuthe's attention in the palm of his hand. She guessed he was taller than Jace, slightly broader in the shoulder too, but his most striking feature was his face; his chin was strong and dotted with stubble, his cheekbones fine and angular while his brow, though high, was smooth of wrinkles. All this was topped by a shock of platinum hair slickly gelled to stand upright and, as he took her measure just as she did his, there was an easy, calming charm in his both his sharp brown eyes and his tone as he turned to the woman beside him,

"Friend of yours?"

"Yes," Chandra could only hope the junior Izzet caught her apologetic grin as she realised she'd blundered in on something potentially important, "Master Zarek this is Chandra Nalaar, a lay-woman friend of mine who's help on this project has been invaluable. She actually was the one who saw the second colour I showed your earlier, sheer luck she picked it out amidst the all the red." Ral chuckled, a pleasant, soothing noise that drown out the chink of metal of metal as his and Chandra's gauntlets met in a handshake,

"You'd be amazed how many inventions spring from luck," he told the team leader before his eyes were drawn to the steel glove in his hand, "hmm, small mana condenser, heat-resistant plating – pyromancer?"

"Indeed," Chandra agreed, noting the various small engines and whirring gears around the other mages' ensemble; _probably an electromancer, or a storm-mage if he's powerful enough_ ; "dragged one of your higher-ups out the wreckage a few years back, he fixed me up with this." Ral nodded, apparently satisfied with the explanation as to why a non-Izzet had League equipment,

"We always pay our dues; still, you mentioned a furnace," he let her hand go and turned to Buuthe, "any spare?"

"Uhh, yes actually,"; _our turn to fire the boilers as well and Chandra shows up – this is a lucky day_ ; "the second one in, our turn to power the turbines. You know the one Chan?" The redhead laughed, waving a hand airily as though the question were beneath her,

"Heh, 'course I do. I'll not disturb you any longer; Master Zarek," the senior guildmage nodded, "a pleasure."

"You as well Miss Nalaar; so then, Boomer was it? Dare I ask?"

 _Sorry Buuthe_ ; even as she made to leave the firebrand cringed as her friend was put on the spot; _I really didn't mean that – huh, I've been saying that a lot today._ Memories from not an hour ago clouded her mind like a swarm of midges but she quickly shook them off, thinking instead about how to…

"Chandra what are you _wearing?!_ "

…make sure Jace Beleren _died_ in a _fire…_

… _slowly!_

XXX

 _Very nice_ ; much as not having one never stopped him the excuse to scrutinise a young womans' paraded charms was a handy bonus; _though whatever it is it's likely one of ours – she must have annoyed an alchemist. Still_ ; rolling his eye sideways only sparked his natural mischief; _no time like the present to get a laugh in, gods know I won't be getting many later_ ;

"New uniform policy?" The junior guildmage at his side, already crimson, went deeper red than the paint she'd discovered, "If so I certainly approve." _That'll do_ ; though sarcasm ran in his veins as much as lightning did in his mana Ral was seldom cruel with his humour – he knew when to end a joke and this certainly seemed the time. Buuthe was so embarrassed it was a wonder she wasn't combusting from embarrassment yet while her friend…

…was just combusting.

No, really, her hair was on fire!

Slack-jawed even as the sudden heat hit him Ral couldn't even recall a simple water-calling enchantment as the lay-woman, having ripped the offending article off the seat of her tunic, roared into a small pillar of flame, her rage tangible as she shot a look over her shoulder that almost cost him control of his bladder. He'd known she was a pyromancer, he hadn't guessed she was a living inferno and as the she-demon's eyes, now pits into hell, met his own he was certainly not ashamed to look away and quiver as her low, threatening tone rumbled over his ears,

"I'll be in the furnace," the fiery apparition hissed, "I could be a while."

She stalked away, floor trembling under her molten tread as Ral watched her go, suddenly very glad that he was behind rather than before her and that she hadn't noticed him leering at her seemingly-revealed behind. Following her until the glow disappeared around a corner the senior guildmage fiddled with his collar to relieve some heat before glancing across at the still-shamedfaced team leader,

"You, ah, you've got interesting friends."

"Friends," she parroted dumbly before shaking her head, obviously remembering herself as she looked up to the taller man and groaned, "I am so sorry master Zarek that was…I have no idea." To her eternal relief the silver-haired man, after a second of scrutinising her, merely laughed,

"You'd be amazed how common that is and I'm the last person to talk about having friends who'd drop me in it at the drop of a hat. Speaking of which though I've got places to be with them later so let's have this done – what made you add the powdered electrum in the first place?"

XXX

Surrounded by darkness, heat and the plinking of metal as it cooled all around her Chandra let out a long, slow breath, opened her eyes and found herself more or less at peace.

Tired but happy was perhaps a more accurate way of putting it, the guilt, shame and, most pertinent of all, utter embarrassment expelled in a rage of fire that had lasted as long as her mana had let her sustain it. Massaging her face with one hand as she groped for the internal handle with the other Chandra wanted to scowl, to glower and to curse her opponent until his hair went white, his teeth fell out and his unmentionables got too close to a Rakdos assassin; what she actually did was let slip a rueful chuckle; _I cannot believe he did that, or that I fell for it! So much for the genius – any money he'll be rubbing my face in it until I beat him_ ; not that she'd blame him, she'd do the same had their positions been reversed; but it was a bitter pill to swallow for her pride even as her conscience accepted that, maybe, it might have been fate, or balance or any of the other beliefs she'd come across in her travels that preached for every time you got ahead you'd fall flat on your face. _Still, that doesn't mean he's getting away with it_ ; a sudden determination blazing in her mind she finally found the handle and tugged the furnace door open, her smile deepening into a challenging grin as she chalked her rival up a point and immediately began thinking of a way to even the tallies; _brace yourself Beleren, I'm coming for you now!_

The air outside the furnace was chilly, Chandra shivering as she stepped outside the metal box and closed the door behind her, the metallic chime helping her focus as she blew out a breath and tucked her now-wild hair back where it belonged. _Wonder what time it is_ ; she wasn't hungry; a fact, she recalled with a flinch, she owed Jace for still; and could see chinks of light in the ceiling of the boilerworks so it couldn't be…

"All finished?"

"Ahh! Buuthe," as soon as her feet touched the floor Chandra clutched her chest and collapsed against the furnace, "don't do that!"

"Just like you don't," the Izzet mage muttered caustically as she faced her friend again, gaze stern but not exactly unkind, "what happened?"

"When?" Buuthe's eyes rolled as though imploring for patience,

"When you thought all the Tenth wanted to see what looked like your ar…?"

"All right," the reminder made the fire mage cringe even if her cheeks mercifully stayed cool, "sorry; game of fools, I got tagged and didn't notice." Buuthe snorted,

"You were the only one that didn't – who're you gaming with? Not Hori surely?"

"Ha, if we were that little squit would be a puff of smoke by now; you don't know him," Chandra waved the question away half-truthfully before facing her friend again, "though in a way I deserved it; I, ah, kind of lost my temper with him earlier, he didn't warrant that."

"You lost your temper, and in other news the Azors have the Guildpact rammed up their collective backside." Chandra winced before rallying,

"Sarcasm doesn't suit you Boomer."

"Suits me about as well as Rakdos trews suit you firefly,"; _ouch – what is this, pick on Nalaar day?_ ; "you really gave Master Zarek an eyeful."

"Don't remind me – he didn't say anything did he?"

"Nothing audible through the snickering," Buuthe told her friend before some of the frost thawed from her expression, "he seemed impressed with what he saw, though whether he was talking about our work or your backside I couldn't say."

"Leave off," Chandra groaned piteously, chin sinking onto her fist as she pouted, "it wasn't my fault, I was got and you know the worst thing? I've got to write an apology to the frazzer now as well, there's just the spit in a cup of bile. Actually, that's a plan," one of the main bonuses of being unpredictable was that you surprised even yourself on occasion, "you've got those, those… oh what are they called, the steel men that trek over this city?"

"Couriers? Yes we make them, or most of them at least; why?"

"Call it a mad idea," Buuthe wasn't sure what was scarier, Chandra calling something mad or smiling whilst doing so, "but is there any chance I can get hold of one for the night, got a message I need to deliver, oh and something else – you can tell them what to do can't you?"

"The higher-end ones yes; what are you up to?" The pyromancers' grin was somehow both wicked and remorseful as she threw an arm around her friends' shoulder,

"Let's just call it settling all my scores at once; I'll pay for the hire but is there a chance I could scrimp a lick of the powders we've got, both colours if possible but red if not…?"

Somehow, as always, she was dragged along in the pyromancers' slipstream; maybe it was fate, maybe it was just spinelessness on her part but there was something about the vivacious redhead that Buuthe simply couldn't say no to, at least not easily. Having secured the necessary services the firebrand assured her she required the guildmage returned to her teams' section of the boilerworks in time to see another sheet of parchment hit the ground around her now-seated friend in a ball,

"Your muse abandoned you?"

"We were never on speaking terms," Chandra said back over her shoulder, "this is frazzing hard to write. Ah stuff it," the quill in her hands scribbled quickly and then it was done, "that's the best he's getting, that and this." Intrigued but knowing better than to ask Buuthe watched on as the lay-woman reached into her coin purse and rolled something up into her note, the parchment slip clinking a little as Chandra stood up and held it loosely in a fist,

"Right that'll do; where are these couriers of yours held?"

"This way," Buuthe headed off, glancing over her shoulder to make sure she was being followed, "though why did you need one with a chest compartment."

"No reason," Chandra assured her cheerfully, grateful her friend hadn't spotted the small bag she'd hidden in the loose fist of her gauntlet, "no reason at all…"

XXX

If Lavinia had been surprised to see him come into the Guildmeet that afternoon it was nothing to how he felt opening the door to her that evening.

The touch on his wards had raised his hackles; by design very few people knew where he lived and he was hardly sociable even at the best of times; but looking through his spying hole and seeing the familiar features standing imperiously on his doorstep had him quickly unbolt the doorstep and see the law-mage in all her impatient glory,

"Lavinia," he began, then cursed as both courage and courtesy abandoned him, "uhh, what are you doing here?"

"Standing on your doorstep; no, no time," her raised palm cut off his belated attempt to invite her inside, "this arrived not half an hour after you'd gone and I didn't want it sat at our gates for the next few days. It's looking for you, told it to follow me after I got off shift."

"You should have called me back in," for obvious reasons Jace wasn't the only telepath employed within the administration hub of Ravnica, "I know I'll never hear the end of it if you're late to that late-night opening."

"I can spare a few minutes; we don't know who sent this."

"I can guess"; _as can you_ ; he didn't need to read her mind to know exactly why Lavinia was hanging around despite the risk of running late to the late-night showing to some obscure Azorius museum Jace had never heard of, "though as my security detail do you have to read it over my shoulder or am I afforded a little privacy?"

Lavinia was too professional to let her satisfaction show as she stepped back a little, merely watching the Guildpact as he walked halfway down the path of his small, somewhat overgrown front garden to the large metal figure halfway down it, though remained close enough to intervene in case the sender had ill intentions towards the blue mage.

"I am Jace Beleren," he said to the courier, "disgorge your message to me." The shambling automaton bleeped, blooped and then extended one massive arm with a pneumatic hiss of steam, allowing the Guildpact to take the small folded parchment from it; _it always eludes me how the Izzet make them able to recognise people from just a name – I should ask later_. Filing the question away for a more pertinent time Lavinia merely remained at her station, not moving as Jace unfurled the parchment and slowly began to scan down it. He didn't even need to read the words, the garish red ink gave away the author of this short piece; knowing this made the mind-mages' hopes both rise and plummet together, his equilibrium only restored as he read down the page and absorbed the words his rival had penned in her messy, sprawling scrawl:

 _Jace 'Big-mouth' Beleren,_

 _I'm not good at this so I'm sorry, that's all – I've not been called Little Dragon for a long time and it brought back old memories. The money I owe's in the corner of this note, if it's not enough to square up the bill let me know next weekend and I'll pay you back while I accept your surrender and you get used to your new title as fool of Ravnica._

 _Sorry again but just for the tally-books I hate being called cute or any of those other words you used – I'll mark that one off a free shot but if it happens again I'll smear you in Scrapings and throw you into a Golgari rot-farm – you've been warned!_

 _Chandra 'future victor' Nalaar, X_

 _PS. Nice work with the fake back end, you got me you letch; don't deny you've been looking, no way it would have fitted so well if you weren't! Keep your eyes open because I will get you back for that, pervert!_

 _PPS. Update from the Niv-Dust team – falalaran._

 _PPPS. Told you so!_

It was a strange amalgamation of apology, threat and promise, one that suited the pyromancer down to the ground as Jace tried to simultaneously smirk and scowl, though the odd word drew his eyes like a magnet would iron filings,

"Fa-lalaran," he rolled the pronunciation over like a boiled sweet, trying to think if he'd ever heard it before, "what does that…?"

"Jace look out!" The panicked shout made him drop the paper just as a metallic click filled his ears; he was just quick enough to raise it again, squeezing his eyes shut and snatching down a breath as the world dissolved into sand. He heard coughing; it might well have been his own; but when he could no longer feel the soft touch grazing his skin or infiltrating his tongue he eventually blinked his eyes open, saw the gaping hole in the centre of the Izzet couriers' chest and felt his temper rise as he realised what had happened,

"I really," he scanned the apology note, now barely legible through the azure pigment seeping through the back of it, " _really_ hate that woman!"

"And I'm starting to agree with you," the sudden voice made him turn and immediately he laughed at the apparition by the side of him, the arrestors' scathing glance only redoubling his mirth as he castigated himself for being a terrible friend. Diving to his aid Lavinia had put herself right in the firing line and, unlike him, hadn't even had the paper shield that had protected his chin, resulting in a face and likely hair, hidden as it was beneath her armoured cowl, bluer than his cloak,

"I, I am so sorry," he choked, the hilarity choked off somewhat as he recalled the PPPS of the letter and realised how badly he'd blundered into the fire mages' trap; _never even crossed my mind – oh there will be payback for this, and we promised no second parties would get caught in the crossfire_ ; "you'd better come in, I know how to get the worst of it off; I've had practise."

"Thank Azor for small mercies," Lavinia growled thickly, her rage smouldering but controlled as she stalked towards his front door, glancing at herself in the nearby window and shaking her head, "look at this, it's never going to come off tonight."

"It will, just takes time and a lot of showers; anyway why are you so worried – hot date waiting for you? Okay, okay too far," the concentrated, cold fire in the arrestors' eyes was enough to make even the overall authority of her plane back up several paces, "upstairs on the left, use as many towels as you need and I'll get you something to eat. You can go directly to the fountain district from here, it'll be quicker and I've got a few old cloaks you can borrow, they should fit." The Azorius shook her head,

"Technically I'm still on duty; can't remove my uniform until it's over. I was going to go there straight from work anyway but I wouldn't say no to a meal if there's one going."

"Least I can do; get yourself a shower, just watch the floors up there might be dusty, I was sweeping up when you arrived."

"You don't use magic for that?"

"No, I find sweeping relaxing."

"You really need to get out more."

"Would if I could but as the Ten are conspiring to drown me in paper I can't."

"That's not a conspiracy…"

"You would say that, you're in on it; I know it, I just can't prove it yet."

"Good luck trying," Lavinia smirked, looking over her shoulder as Jace followed her inside, "good arrestors learn how to uncover tracks, the best of us learn how to cover their own."

"And you're one of the best they've got," the illusionist sighed, rolling his eyes, "go on, to the shower, and do you want something hot or cold before you leave…?"

As the two friends rubbed off the worst of the playful attack, dined quickly and then bid each other farewell life on Ravnica went on as it always did, or almost always; for one elderly woman a sin she'd long forgotten caught up with her at last as she fell into oblivion. Unable to scream and with limbs too feeble and ravaged with gout to do more than twitch feebly the former guildmage felt gravity seize her flailing form, her heart palpitating wildly before giving way seconds before her lifeless body fell headlong into the very machine that had made her name, her life extinguished in a flash and crackle of the contained storms' wild heart.

For her all was darkness; for Ravnica, life moved on as it always had.

A/N: It's all hotting up and neither planeswalker is giving an inch, though is there now a risk of other innocents being dragged into the crossfire? Fighting against each other as they are will the two remember the terms of their agreement, and even if they do will they be able to resist temptation, or will they stray onto forbidden territory to finally have this battle won? Willmore secrets be revealed as these two virtually strangers continue their duel or will it all come to a head sooner than expected as other factors play their hands? Keep reading to find out!

Card of the Chapter:

Rakdos Roulette – Sorcery – 4RB – The player to your left rolls a six-sided dice. If that player does not roll a 1, the player to his left then rolls a six-sided dice; repeat this rolling until one player rolls a 1. The first player who rolls a 1 loses half their current life total (rounded up) and discards half the cards in their hand (rounded down) – _One way or another it's going to suck._

See you in the next chapter and looking forwards to going back to Innistrad; mystery, intrigue and the great unknown; who here thinks Wizards is setting Jace and Liliana up as the Multiverses' answer to Mulder and Sculley (I hope not, I've always thought Lili and Gideon would make a better couple – opposites attract and all that)?


	7. Chapter 7 - Sparking Up Interest

Chapter 7 – Sparking Up Interest

A/N: I am so sorry; life is too hectic and I'm typing this having got about eight hours sleep in the last eighty. All I'll say to all fans of my work is that my updates are slow due to work (summer is busy for us) and my current update schedule is this – After Catching Fire – Mouse of Konoha – ACF – Win Some Lose Some – ACF; repeat until one of these stories is completed, the world ends or I completely lose my sanity, and if I were a betting man the smart money would be on the latter of those options!

Enough of that though, our contest is delicately poised and neither of the combatants can truly get an edge over the other; time to bring in the heavy artillery!

XXX

For some reason it just wasn't happening today.

Most of the time the hidden secrets of the code would reveal themselves like words in the word-searches Lavinia was fond of but today the random jumble of figures, symbols and hieroglyphs remained an indecipherable mess. _Either their code-makers are getting better or I'm getting rusty, not that I don't have a hand in the former_ ; Jace knew himself well enough to admit the notes he scribbled on the Dimir reports weren't solely for the benefit of those who'd written them, pointing out weaknesses in their ciphers and giving hints as to how he'd cracked them. Evidently the Dimir had taken those hints to heart, the proof now laid out before him.

The shield protecting the Guild request before him worked on timed alterations to the coding formula and, though he had translated part of it, the secret of when the code switched frustratingly eluded him. _Like that bloody map all over again_ ; he rubbed his throat gingerly as a phantom grip crushed it, the shadow of a great axe looming large in his memory; _without the bodily harm. I'll come back to you_ ; conceding temporary defeat the Guildpact returned the missive to the top of his in-tray before skilfully pulling out the parchment under it, recognising exactly which Guild had submitted it by the smell; _which reminds me I really must see how Emmaras' new gardens in the Conclave are blooming. I think she's right, some sort of flower-elemental would be just the thing for the Festival._

Thoughts of the silver-haired elf, at one time the closest thing he could remember to a mother-figure and now one of his closest confidents, made him smile before he shook the memories away and focussed on the missive, pursing his lips as the part of his being that wasn't truly him provided the information he required. It was a strange thing, to be aware of a piece of your mind that was never actually yours, but as he had learned to control his Spark so too would he learn to if not control, then at least work with the Guildpact. Jace would admit, albeit grudgingly, that he was arrogant but following his encounter with not just the Bailiff but the shade of its creator at the end of the Maze, all thoughts mastering even the rudiments of the timeless magical force underpinning Ravnica's stability had been banished forever.

From the rare moments he dedicated to understanding the power he had inherited he had come to the conclusion that, save possibly for the Eldest Serpent himself, there was no being in the Multiverse that could hope to fully harness the Pact; he would dare try only in the direst circumstances. To borrow a Simic phrase, Jace considered his new situation akin to a symbiosis between the magic that had been channelled and bound millennia ago and himself, its new host. It was like living with a cool, quiet mind that knew its purpose infinitely better than its host did, and despite its passive nature Jace was afraid of calling on it too deeply or too often. It was certainly useful though; at whim he could recall any of the myriad rules of the City of Guilds even as the Azorius made them and, more than that, make reasoned judgements of the meaning of them, the Guildpact providing the information directly to his mind as though he'd read it from a scroll. The other powers it granted him he didn't dwell on; he knew himself too well to dare… a knock on the door of his office distracted his darkening thoughts,

"Come in – hello Lavinia," the arrestor nodded at her name as Jace glanced away, willing himself not to look at her face too deeply, "was the, ah, exhibition what you hoped it would be?"

"Better in some ways, worse in others"; _as was the company_ ; like most long-time members of the Azorius nothing showed in her expression as she went on, "the worst of it being the exhibition I made of myself thanks to your friend."

"She is not my friend," Jace corrected her, pointing at his face where the marks of Chandra's last attack hadn't yet washed out, "and I didn't exactly get off free as a Gruul either. That could be an end to it – you're an innocent party and we did agree no-one else was to get dragged in – say the word and the game is over, and in my favour as well." The arrestor snorted dismissively,

"Do you want me to?" His silence answered her question, "A cheap victory isn't worth winning, and besides I meant what I said about you needing a hobby Jace; cursing her out on your doorstep was the most animated I've ever seen you."

"You've never seen me when the mulch hits the furnace," the mind-mage muttered before raising his voice, "but still it's your choice…"

"And I choose no," he nodded, recognising her tone as one that would render further argument as not just pointless but also unwise; _not that it ever stops Mirko, Ral or Tajic occasionally trying it_ ; "anyway you coming for break?"

"Break, already?" A glance at the clock confirmed it and he grunted in surprise, "The ciphermancers are getting better at their trade – I know, I know," his raised hand halted her comment, "part of it's my fault." Lavinia nodded, holding the door open for him as he reached for his cloak and then thought better of it,

"Admission of guilt is half the battle."

"Dare I ask the other?"

"Punishment."

"I'll skip that half thank you."

"Most would given the choice; speaking of which any plans to strike back at that Nalaar woman and avenge our joint blue funk?" Jace strangled a bark of mirth in his sinuses, glancing sidelong at the arrestor,

"Thought you'd lost most of the street-slang by now 'Vinia?" Her smile echoed his own,

"You can take the arrestor off the beat but…" she tailed off, leaving that Azorius proverb unfinished as Jace shook his head, knowing the latter half without resorting to the Guildpacts' answers, "…so, any ideas?"

Jace's reply was a secretive smile but just as the former Maze Runner was deciding if she should ask or not he glanced up and down the corridor. Out of instinct Lavinia ducked slightly lower to him, her right hand straying to the maul she kept on her belt; despite not having patrolled the street for almost a year, the short, weighted stick had been her saviour too often for her to relinquish it,

"A couple but there's other things on my mind for now – I'll need to speak to you later this week. Shouldn't take long really but…"

"…I can guess," she finished for him with a slight sigh; she'd gone through such 'shouldn't take long' affairs several times before, "your office or mine?"

"Yours, bigger desk but we'll need to wait until everyone's gone…"

XXX

"Right then, out to boldly face the new da-aahhh!"

"Face it yes," Dorlunn remarked dryly, looking between the woman who'd virtually teleported to the top of the table and the smaller being that had startled her up there, "boldly not so much." Chandra shot her a withering glance,

"Caught me by surprise," she muttered, glaring at the squat figure that had all but scuttled over her toecaps, "we need to get him a bell on him."

"We do?" Dorlunn questioned mildly, stooping to run a few fingers over the spidots' back as Spindles scurried under the table, no doubt to sleep off the successful hunt her youngest had thrown out the door earlier, "my three and I have no trouble with him as he is; you just need to look where you're going."

"Last time I did that I ended up here," the pyromancer cut back off-handedly, draining the sting from her insult with her usual grin as she gingerly hopped down as though expecting the Simic creation to maul her ankles as she scarpered towards the door, "still there are worse places to be, and tell Dorun I'll help write up that study-thing the Simic git needs when I get back."

"He has a name."

"And given what I've called him in the past I'm being generous; I'll see you later 'Lunn, want me to pick anything up while I'm out?"

"Apart from some manners," a raised hand deflected the lay-womans' glower long enough for Chandra to give a rueful shrug; _Mother Luti couldn't do that in years, you and all of Ravnica have no hope in a few months_ ; "no, we're alright. Go, you'll be late."

"Yes mother," Chandra's tone was only half irreverent as she headed out the kitchen towards the front door, pausing only to softly pat Jara on the head as she accepted the girls' goodbyes for the day – a heartbeat after that the door of the Ruz household closed with a soft bang and the pyromancer was once more out in the streets of City of Guilds.

Though Keral Keep was and always would be her home Chandra liked to consider herself well-travelled; between her often-fruitless quest for Zendikar and the remorseless chase after Ramaz her boots had trodden the surface of at least a hundred separate planes despite her relative youth. However even amongst these disparate worlds Ravnica stood out starkly; there simply was no other place like it both within the Eternities and without. Though she didn't know how the dead of the city-plane often rested uneasily, this blurring the barrier between life and death granting the planar mana a unique distortion even within the madness of the lands beyond – to Spark-bearers who knew what to look for, Ravnica shone like a beacon. Once the planeswalker was back on solid ground the difference was even more pronounced; having grown up in a monastery most of her life Chandra had been at first overawed and faintly terrified at the thought of so many disparate races and creeds packed together cheek by jowl. Even now she saw something novel every time she ventured outside, forcing her to think on her feet as she watched strange processions pass by and even stranger beasts fly overhead, piercing the smoke of the Izzet district in graceful swirls or arrow-straight dives, chaos held together only by the vast majority of the city eking out their daily lives and causing as little trouble as they could get away with.

 _You could write a lifetime of novels about this place, or Jace could at least_ ; her current nemesis popped into her mind and she chuckled, imagining him hunched over a desk and writing feverishly to finish his latest chapter before the next self-imposed deadline; _perhaps it's not so strange he stays here all the time._ There was enough happening to satisfy the curiosity of most people, perhaps even most elves, for a lifetime or more but the pyromancer had never truly felt at home here – she liked her own space and that more than anything, save perhaps blood, was at a premium in the City of Guilds. _Still, nothing to say I can't stop long enough to chalk up a win on the Caped Head-talker_ ; the though made her smirk as she looked both ways, allowing a slow but implacable procession of the huge Orzhov treasure-thrulls to stomp across the street before her; _and the Ruz place is enough space for now, shame it's not a bit bigger though. Still, that's a minor matter_ ; and as she ascended the short flight of stone steps that led to her current place of work she dismissed it from her mind, instead smiling at the nearest of the boilerwork gate guards,

"Morning Furio," she'd gotten to know most of the laymen who stood sentinel over the Tenth district works and Furio, missing a finger and a half on his right hand and with his nose smeared across his face as a legacy of a bar fight, was immediately distinctive, "quiet morning I hope?" Unusually he didn't smile back immediately and when he did Chandra felt unease rising; rather than the broad gap-toothed grin he usually gave the older man seemed wearily solemn,

"Quiet yes, for all the wrong reasons; just hold there a heartbeat would you Chandra?"

"Sure," unease prickled into disquiet as he jotted down her name onto a small sheaf of parchment before reaching into his belt and withdrawing a small scrap of plain white fabric, something he'd never done before. Snatching a glance over her shoulder to see his partner likewise signing another few visitors in the pyromancer voiced her concern as he held out the cloth to her,

"What's this for; has something happened?" Furio nodded sombrely,

"Yes, news came at first light; one of the old spark-mages had an accident last night, didn't come out of it. The old lizard himself ordered a day of mourning for her; tie that around your arm," he explained, gesturing to the band of white around his own left arm that, up until then, Chandra hadn't seen, "don't ask me what happened, I just watch the gates here. Talk'll be all over the 'works by now, you're with Buuthe's lot aren't you?"

"That's the one," the red mage confirmed, trying to tie the loose fabric over her armour; _this isn't going to last a heartbeat where I work_ ;

"Aqua-alchemist she is," Furio mused, half to himself before shaking his head, "I doubt she'll know too much more, all I can tell you is it was an electromancer and it was quick. Just be respectful in there, any old Izzet worth their sulphur has a lot of students, they'll not take kindly to being reminded she's gone."

"Got it," Chandra nodded, straightening up as at last she managed a one-handed knot, "if I hear anything interesting I'll let you know, Buuthe should have one of us lays on the lunch-run today." The older man snorted, cocking an eyebrow her way,

"Mithocks' Fine Pastries?"

"None finer," Chandra assured, the thought making her long for lunch already; Mithocks' like most businesses in the Tenth, had sprung up around the nearby Guild settlement to feed its often-ravenous population and that population, to say nothing of the lower property prices on Izzet land, had its owners coining a tidy profit for only a minimal risk of part of the Guild crashing through their ceiling at any given moment. _Still they know how to dive for cover, and their pasties are to die for_ ; licking her lips as she bade farewell to the gate warden the laywoman found herself quite fancying a pasty but was careful to hide such thoughts; with so many long faces around the boilerworks, looking jovial would have been considered the poorest of taste.

Fortunately Furio was only half-right; Buuthe might have been an aqua-mage but, having followed her mentors' habit of spreading her net widely across the Izzet to collate a well-rounded team, someone else was more in the know,

"…Sounds like the rail just went," Hori explained, the youngest member of the team speaking in a rush as he recanted what one of the higher-ups had told him through barely-contained tears, "she'd never have had a chance, they only realised what had happened when someone noticed the damage and realised she was missing."

"Only way they would know, you don't get much change out a lightning condenser," one of the older team members rumbled, Morgun's hands, arms and face scarred by repeated splashes of the molten metal that were his lifes' work, "still, at least she didn't suffer and she was what, in her sixties? She did well to get that far – you electros have a habit of not making old bones." Despite himself Hori smiled,

"Burn bright and go out with a bang, that's how we live."

"Which is why you should be thankful you're on our schedule," Siara chuckled, ruffling his hair with one hand while the other danced a bronze coin between its fingers, the archivists' way of keeping them occupied when they weren't busy with the quill tucked behind her ear, "Boomer'll not see you wrong. Keep with her and you'll prove the lie to that statement, long enough to grow fuzz on your lip at least."

"Like you do on your legs?" The archivist pulled up short as though stung as Morgun and, further away and not yet spotted, Chandra both snickered at his riposte, "you're not that much older than me Sia."

"In body no," she shot back, "but when it comes to minds I might as well be Niv-Mizzet compared to you."

"What, watching it wander off – sounds about right." Siara mottled, her fist clenching around her coin as she raised it threateningly while Hori glared at her; _that's odd, they usually get on well_ ;

"Why you…!" _And there's my cue_ ;

"Morning," all three looked over as Chandra pretended not to notice the sparks flying between the younger Izzet present, "I heard the news off Furio on the door; what's happened and did it happen here?"

"No, thankfully," Morgun answered as the other two came to an unspoken truce, "Hori were just telling us it were at the main 'works itself, the Guildhall. Master Kalazzat went head-first into one of her own inventions, the safety rail over it snapped supposedly."

"I hope her team get flayed," Hori snapped viciously, wiping his eyes with his sleeve, "I met her once you know, she gave me this when I passed through the Guild tests," no stranger to loss Chandra's gaze was sympathetic as he glanced down at his treasured guild robes, meagre as they were compared to those of true guildmages and masters,

"What was she like?" The firemages' question was both genuine and based on past experience; following the passing of Father Shrovi it had been over a week before she'd felt ready to face Regatha and only then after Favia, her long-term nemesis at the Keep then and not much better since, had risked life and limb asking her repeated questions about the larger-than-life abbot; _I thought she was trying to hurt me, she was making me remember the best bits about him. She's slyer than she makes out is Favia, but still couldn't light a candle with both hands and a furnace nearby_ ; memories of her former annoyance were then discarded as Hori deliberated on his answer,

"She was," the young electromancer paused, weighing his words, "well she was old, had a crick in her back, walked with a cane. But she was sharp as a Boros blade, had answers to all my questions marked out with purple pen and quizzed me on them; felt like taking the exam all over again. Got my tunic though, she handed it to me; straight after than I decided to become an electromancer."

"Oh it's her fault is it?" Chandra exclaimed quietly, grinning slightly as she explained, "If she'd been elsewhere that day you might have decided different and Boomer wouldn't be dragging your carcass along in our wake."

Hori's eyes bulged, his jaw working soundlessly until a snort from next to him broke his stupor, Siara with her fist stuffed against her lip to bottle the laughter up. Pausing only to shoot the archivist a betrayed look the apprentice stood to his full height and cracked his knuckles ominously, glaring up at the laywoman regarding him lackadaisically,

"Right," he said softly, the tang of ozone permeating the air around him as he stepped forward, "lesson one in Master Kalazzats' _Theorems of the Spark_ ; time to make good on that promise!"

"Inside I'm quaking," Chandra assured him, wondering where she'd heard that before as the young Izzet stormed towards her; _let's see what you've got_. She wasn't overly worried, considering the odd shock worth the price of knocking him out of a potential funk – she'd done the same with Brannon a few times when he was newly arrived at the monastery, stopping him wallowing in his homesickness by letting him throw flickers of flame her way. Therefore she didn't move and feigned disinterest in his faintly glowing hand as he raised it; only when he darted behind her did she move to follow him. He didn't make it easy though, skipping to keep himself at her rear and at snickers from the onlookers Chandra decided enough was enough, dashing away from her smaller antagonist and raising a hand in warning,

"Alright squit, what did you do?" Pre-warned by two recent bad experiences involving an adversary and her hindquarters Chandra was in little mood to be forgiving despite his recent loss, even less so at the smug grin Hori shot her as he hooked his thumbs into his short rope belt,

"Did what I said I would firefly," he ducked the mote of fire with long-practised ease, Chandra's displeasure at the nickname not enough to stop it infiltrating through the team as a whole, "take a look."

Not sure what he was playing at Chandra didn't take her eye off him as she sidled towards the metal support he pointed out; when she realised the polished steel acted as a mirror, however, he suddenly took secondary importance as she stared at her distorted reflection,

"What the…?" She spluttered, trying to smooth down her suddenly-flyaway hair and rewarded with a loud crackle of static as it adhered to her hands, "…call this off you little swine!"

"C,Can't," Hori chuckled at her outraged expression, "it's not magic, it's polarity."

"Just flame your hair Chan, that should get rid of it," Siara suddenly chipped in and, a blast of heat later, the firebrand was grateful to realise she was right. Smoothing the errant mop down she favoured Hori with a frigid glare before breaking it, stepping forwards and patting his shoulder,

"Guess you could put a frizz into it," she admitted, Hori trying not to look too pleased with himself, "how'd you do it?"

"Sorry Chan, electromancer's secret," he admitted, tapping the side of his nose as she raised an eyebrow,

"Really; this Guild has secrets? Sia can you explain it," the girl, now in the willowy stage of growth as she grew into her womanhood, brightened and drew in a breath, "in a way that doesn't make me want to stick forks in my ears?"

 _That did it_ ; even as the archivists' face fell Hori was already snickering heartily, even stoic Morgun not able to resist a snigger as Chandra silently apologised to the victim of her joke. Scowling, Sia nodded in reluctant acceptance just as the apprentice recovered, shaking his head,

"I suppose there aren't," he began, something akin to guile slithering over his face as he glanced up at her, "still I'm sure Master Kalazzat wouldn't want her hard work and research cast before heathen pyromancers for nothing – stand me a medley next time we go the pasty shop and I'll show you."

"A medley?" Chandra repeated, wincing as she imagined the impact on her coin purse, "Didn't take you for high tastes"; _though I could have said the same about me – the hellion steak was good though_ ; "alright, long as you spare me a crust."

"Shouldn't be a problem," he assured her, holding out a hand that she shook to seal their deal, "now where's… ah, speak of the 'Gari and they're bound to shuffle your way."

"I do not shuffle apprentice Julai," the new arrival informed the youngest member of the team frostily before scanning them all, "is this all?"

"Fraid so ma'am," Sia sighed, a scrap of parchment in her hand as though by magic as she read off the rollcall of missing persons, "Kilic's waiting for his wife to whelp, the Boros selection finishes this week which means we should get Yatta back soon and not sure about Levene and Horgarth."

"Bloody lays," Morgun muttered, "no offence Chandra."

"None taken, though at least Yatta's got a reason," the firebrand pointed out reasonably, recalling the older womans' husband was a lieutenant in the Legion and, as the Boros were preparing for one of their grand parades following the end of their quarterly selection, she was required more at home than the Izzet, "what's the plan Boomer?"

"Well firstly I take it you've all heard?" A quick glance around the assembled told the team leader all she needed to know, "Hori is there anything else you need to do?" He shook his head,

"No chief, apprentices had their tot first thing this morning, everything else is full mages and above only."

"Well come lunch you can come with me to pick out a bottle and we'll share a tot between us at the end of the day," Buuthe told him, Chandra guessing a tot was something important as his head snapped up,

"What? You mean it?"

"Of course," the guildmage assured him with a rare smile, "you're one of my team first, electromancer second – none here would mind raising a tot with Hori would they?"

Chandra shook her head with everyone else, fighting down a slight melancholy with practised ease; a planeswalkers' lot, it seemed, was to ever be slightly estranged from the crowd, to never quite understand the significance of rituals specific to one plane. She, and others like her she guessed, were strangers wherever they went, though even as she digested the thought her mind turned to a planeswalker who seemingly had overcome such dislocation and did seem to belong, though Buuthes' plans for the day prevented her dwelling on Jaces' changed circumstances too long,

"So Sia you're on your own in the archives today, same topics as before."

"Metals and reactions with aqueous agents, got it," the researched huffed, "don't expect miracles without lay help but I'll do what I can."

"Good, which leaves me on the benches for the morning, everyone clear?" _Hang on_ ;

"What about me?" Chandra chipped in, suspicious about not having heard her name and the emotion only deepening as her friend regarded her with an inscrutable expression,

"Ah yes Chandra, you I have a special job for. I was hoping there'd be more of us here when I said this but you four will have to do," suddenly the dam burst and Buuthe seemed to devolve a decade, almost gabbling in glee as her team looked on amazed or, in Chandras' case, trying not to laugh, "as you know Master Zarek conducted an inspection of our workplace only a few days ago and was decidedly impressed by what he saw," if Buuthe shot her a knowing glance the firebrand pointedly ignored it, "and coupled with the results of our 'works audit he's decided to generously award us a small grant. It's for team-building only," the leader declared over a sudden hubbub from the group, Chandra joining the elation; _I could use another good payday_ ; "so once we decide what to do it has to go through the right channels to be paid for, no money in hand"; _damn - oh well, better than nothing_ ; "and it's going to be your job to pick it up for us Chandra."

The declaration sent a spear through her contemplations of what to do with an unexpected windfall,

"Me? How come?" _Are you setting me up?_ ; memory pranged by the reminder of what the Izzet master had last seen of her Chandra had the impression her tasking was no accident, an impression that became only more distinct as Buuthe explained in a studiously neutral tone,

"Because on we're thin on the ground and likely not to need a furnace until later, when Hori and Morgun have the metallic reagents ready for drying. Secondly out of all of us apart from me you've met Master Zarek," not even Buuthe could hold back a quick smile but, to her credit, it was gone before anyone else could comment, "and lastly, no offence, but as a lay you're less likely to be suspected of trying to up the numbers. Grants usually come in the form of a ciphered code that only mages should be able to break, though some smart apprentices have been known to figure it out. Lay-people on the other hand not a hope, so to the abacus-brigade you're the most trustworthy of us." Chandra mulled this over for a moment before shrugging,

"Fine by me, easy morning and I get paid either way. Where's Ral hang out usually; oh come on Boomer, he asked you to call him that." _Revenge is sweet_ ; somehow she kept her face blank as Buuthe looked scandalised before pulling herself back together,

"His personal laboratory is towards the east; there shouldn't be any security and he's not on any remembrance details for Master Kalazzat; I checked, which is why I was slightly late here. If anyone stops you just mention me as your team leader and they should let you through, though be aware that actually getting into his workspace might be a bit… complicated."

"Complicated?" The firebrand parroted, once more uneasy that her friend was setting her up for a dive before deciding to hell with it, she'd lived through worse than anything Boomer was likely to do even if she had embarrassed her in front of her superior; _and hopefully lover, though she'll never get anywhere with that unless she puts some effort in, men like Zarek don't stay unattached long_ ; "Ah whatever; if you smell anything smoking when I get back deny all knowledge."

There were a smattering of chuckles before Hori answered,

"Will do; get back early and I'll start teaching you that little electrickery – don't forget you owe me a pie though."

"I won't and I look forward to it; see you all later."

XXX

"What the fraz is this?"

Flat wasn't the way most people would describe Chandra Nalaars' voice but, seeing the vast wall of almost-indecipherable chalk scribblings on the mammoth blackboard before her, it was all she could do to even speak to the figure hunched over a desk to the side of the labyrinthine scrawlings,

"That would be one of Master Zarek's lesser discoveries," even as the small man answered without looking up at her Chandra's fists clenched; it wasn't his weasel frame, his thick glasses or his obsequious, oily voice and the way he obviously hero-worshipped the guildmage, it was some combination of them all that made her want to bury her gauntlet squarely between his overlarge ears until whatever was between them started leaking out, "a mathematic equation with almost infinite possible answers."

"Right, and I've got to answer it?"

"No," his disdain was like being stroked with a glove studded with nails and made the firebrand grit her teeth, "you take one of those slips, give it to me and if it's an answer I've not seen before I feed it through to Master Zarek. If he hasn't seen it before he will allow you access; you'll likely be a while, I can order sandwiches if you like."

"No need," Chandra grated, squinting back up at the impenetrable mess of symbols to take her mind off the beautiful image of roasting the slimy receptionist in his seat and posting the ashes through the small porthole in the locked door that led to Zareks' inner sanctum, "seen a lot of answers have you?"

"See the calendar on my desk?"

"Yeah, what about it?"

"It's not a calendar."

"Oh," the firebrand managed, taking in the parchment and realising it was struck through with tally-marks, "right. Look I haven't…"

"Got time, you're very busy, your team leader wants results yesterday; madam I've heard them all more often than I've had answers to that puzzle combined," the man assured her tiredly, Chandra belatedly realising his desk didn't have a name on it, "this is the way it is done, has always been done and always will be done. If you cannot answer a puzzle as open-ended as this one you are likely not worth Master Zareks' time; unfair maybe but so is life; take it or leave it."

Chandra breathed slowly in and out, reminding herself the man in front of her was just like her, a cog in the wheel and turning him to charcoal wouldn't do anything to solve her problem and would only get her in trouble into the bargain. Instead she snatched one of the slips from the corner of the desk and examined the huge slab before her, wondering idly how much chalk Zarek must have gone through to write it all down. _This is hopeless_ ; she didn't know what half the symbols even meant; _the one time Jace would have been useful and he's squirrelled in his office miles away, useless sod! Right, think about it – Slimer back there said it had almost infinite answers, should I just guess a random number? Assuming it even is a number, could be letters for all I know, wait_ ; she glanced down at the blank slip again, a sudden idea occurring to her; _it just has to be an answer he's not seen before – okay, I can work with that…_ ;

She was sure Zarek's assistant wasn't expecting her answer so quickly and it was all she could do not to laugh in his face as his expression dropped. Flabbergasted, the man looked between her and the parchment as though trying to work out if what was written even existed,

"Is… this is… it's…"

"My answer, now do what you've got to do with it, I'm busy," Chandra commanded imperiously, grinning only when the short, wiry figure had his back to her as he slowly made his way to deposit her answer to the enigmatic ruler of this small section of the Izzet guild.

XXX

 _This should be interesting_ ; given the bad news first thing he honestly hadn't thought anything would have been able to dredge a chuckle out of him today; though he'd never worked under or with the woman herself many of his successful theories had been based on Kalazzats' earlier work. The now-deceased guildmage was credited with dragging electromancy into the modern age primarily by proving it was impossible to study lightning in place, it had to be allowed to flow or condense before it could be properly harnessed. _A sad day, though one_ ; he glanced up from the small slip he was twirling between his fingers to the figure who'd just been let in through his main door and started in recognition; _that just got a little brighter_ ;

"A familiar face I see," his voice broke his new guest from her examinations of some of his minor works, "and if you'd turn around a familiar something else too." The woman froze, her eyes flaring in outrage before their owner regarding him with a razor smile, a snake of fire suddenly flowing around her fingertips,

"Tell me Master Zarek, how attached to your eyebrows are you?"

"Plenty, and as I said before call me Ral," he replied breezily, breaking the tension with an easy smile, "I've got your teams' grant here Chandra, don't mind if I call you that do you?"

"Call me what you like as long as we get our cash," the firebrand retorted, testing the waters as she felt out the storm mages' humour, "though if you run out of here with your head on fire don't trust the jury to convict me." Ral snorted,

"With my record they'd probably commend you and do me for littering," Chandra chuckled, grateful that the master of this chamber seemed far more easy-going than the officious toady outside, "just let me… yep, here it is."

A small metal sphere rolled across his desk and the firebrand took a few paces forwards to snap it up, examining it briefly before stashing it at her belt,

"Thanks; that was a lot more painless than I was expecting given your, uh, receptionist."

"Ah good old Slithers, my bulwark against the inane madness of this job. Don't be too harsh on him, it's mostly an act; he's fairly approachable once you've been here a few times."

"Really? Thought he was going to have a seizure when I handed him that slip."

"True but 'I Don't Care' is an out-there answer – you might have gotten to see the old firedrake himself with that one."

"I've never been one for thinking inside the box and sad to say it's true; fires' not often more complicated than heat-air-fuel, beyond that big words and numbers don't really interest me."

To Chandras' surprise rather than recoil at this blasé indifference Ral actually nodded in agreement,

"Me neither truth be told but you've got to have proof of your research to get funding for the next project, otherwise I'd let it all go hang and blow stuff up," he admitted soberly before shrugging, "still it is what it is, and from what your leaders' kicking out it's definitely working. We're likely to be in the black this quarter thanks to pre-orders of that red paint alone and Buuthe certainly knows her stuff; some of the glassware she came up with I'll have to discuss with her when I've a minute; those designs could be a solid grounding for her masters' tunic. A grant was the least I could do for such good work, and entertainment."

"Couldn't resist it could you?" Chandra ground through gritted teeth, trying hard not to smile; though there was no malice in his tone, now she had another reason to loathe her opponent in their struggle,

"Can you blame me?" There was a second of silence before both chuckled lightly, Ral in amusement and Chandra in chagrin though she listened as the electromancers' tone became slightly more probing, "Who'd you annoy to get tagged like that? Wasn't an alchemist was it, didn't think Buuthe had one on her team?"

"We do but he's not here today, waiting on his missus and their seventh whelp," Chandra explained, the Izzet guildmage nodding as realisation dawned; _goblins usually go in for big families_ ; "and anyway he's got more sense than to dare; it wasn't one of your lot that got me."

"Oh," Ral's interest was officially piqued, "dare I ask who then, we could use them as a lay. Seemed top-quality alchemistry from what I saw of it, form-fitting too." Chandra cringed and then glared, the expression bouncing off Rals' polite expectation and causing her to crack and sigh,

"You probably don't… actually you might," belatedly she remembered the other witnesses to her first strike against the mind-mage, her revenge for the suffering she'd undergone at his hands; _and he was one of them! This could be big if I can get Ral Zarek on my side, we said anyone we could bribe and I'm a lay for his guild, that's got to count for something. Slow and steady Chandra, do not blow this one_ ; "remember the first time you visited our team, just after we'd had our red dust tested by the Simic?"

"How could I forget?" The guildmage snorted, recalling the incident and the Guildmeet that had followed fondly before his mercurial mind leapt to a sudden conclusion and he stared at the woman before him pie-eyed, "wait, you, you mean that… _Jace Beleren_?"

Chandra held up her hands as though caught, her expression half-rueful, half-proud as she came clean and mentally crossed her fingers,

"It wasn't official back then but yep, afraid so – long story short it's a game of fools between me and that Guildmeet frazzer; you know him?"

"Yeah," the lightning mage breathed faintly, too dumbstruck by this sudden upheaval in reality to even laugh, "so, you're in a game of fools with Jace Beleren? And that dye, and the, the trews you…?" Chandra nodded quickly, trying hard not to blush or curse at the memory,

"Second time he caught me with that one," she admitted with a growl before moving back on topic, "but, pardon me being a bit forward here Master Zarek, this is where you come in." The guildmage, finally beginning to process what he was hearing, jolted in surprise,

"Me? How?"

"Rules of our game are that we can call in favours from friends or acquaintances; I'm an Izzet lay so technically you count as well. I've had an idea for a while but I can't carry it out and I doubt anyone on my team could either – how good are you with illusions?"

"Fair to middling, better if I've had time to set them… wait, wait," common sense catching up to ego Ral hauled the conversation back to semi-reasonable ground, "let me hear this again; you're in a game of fools, with Jace Beleren?"

"Yes and you saw what happened to peg him ahead," Chandra reminded him, irritation tempered with eagerness in her tone, "I've got a plan to switch the scales but it needs either a decent conjuror or a paper model; I can't cast illusions worth a damn and there aren't enough trees in the Tenth for the scale I'm after."

"I almost dread to ask," Ral breathed, by now fighting hard to hold down a grin; _why in the hells… in fact forget why, this is just too perfect!_ ; "I'm in but," he raised a hand just in time, Chandra containing herself to a hiss of triumph as she pocketed a powerful ally in her struggle, "before we go too far into this I've Guild business to attend later today; once that's over I can give you a decent timetable. You wanted him in the Guildmeet, I assume, when it all went off?"

"Actually I wanted him here," Chandra confessed after a heartbeat, "that way I'd see the look on his face when he walked into it."

"Chandra I'm appalled," glancing up at his tone of gentle admonishment the firebrand could only raise an eyebrow as Ral wagged a finger, "who do you think you're talking to; I can make sure you get a front-row seat wherever you are. I should be back this afternoon, come and find me then with your teams' decision on that grant, Slithers will let you in."

"Look forwards to it," Chandra beamed, patting the small sphere at her waist before snickering, "Slithers? Who came up with that one; suits him down to the ground."

"True but as I said most of it's an act, though when they decided to name their son Simone I can only assume master and madam Lithers were either deep in their cups or working as court jesters for Rakdos himself."

"Seriously?" Only at Rals' nod did Chandra truly burst out laughing, clapping her non-gauntleted palm over her mouth, "Thahahat's mean, talk about setting him up for a fall."

"He fell on his feet; decent enough man, good at his work and keeps out the riff-raff I don't want to see"; _as well as letting in the company I do and keeping quiet about it afterwards, or he used to at least_ ; remembering more than a couple of occasions he'd had good reason to be grateful for his aides' silence Ral dismissed the lay-woman for his sepulchre, "I'll see you sometime this afternoon Chandra, make sure you've got that idea planned out." The flamecaller grinned,

"Already done," she assured him, tapping her temple, "thanks Master Zarek; that was me being polite, it doesn't happen often; I'll have our answer after lunch."

"I look forward to it."

 _And don't I just_ ; the Izzet mage was just able to keep himself composed long enough for her to turn around, Chandra not seeing her future helper collapse onto his elbows and bury his lips in his hands; _Jace Beleren is in a game of fools with her, a woman who can turn into a torch at will? He's insane, though having said that_ ; he was just fast enough to crane back in his seat, catching a glimpse of what Jace had tagged previously before the door swished shut; _he's got decent standards, and to think a few of us were putting wagers on him being attracted to trees. Mind you he never even tried with Tandaris so he can't be all right in the head, or the trousers – still, to business._ Even as Chandras' footsteps faded Ral was ferreting about in his topmost drawer, withdrawing what he needed and channelling mana into it in the same movement. There were a few heartbeats of torturous waiting before mercifully the long-distance transceiver crackled into life and he launched himself into the explanation,

"Ah good, glad to catch you; I've just had a very interesting conversation with one of my lay-women, did you… how…? really…? oh, _oh_ , well that's… actually that's an excellent idea, I could use some time away right now, normal place or a bit more upmarket this time…? yes of course we can talk about that testing issue and price plan, actually hold that thought it could be important… very well… just before midday, see you then."

A few moments later and with one arm through his travelling cloak Ral was hardly surprised to find himself the subject of his aides' owlish scrutiny; before he had a chance to explain himself the junior mage but slightly older man read his mind,

"I'll make the equation unbreakable shall I sir?"

"You know me too well Simone and don't call me sir; it makes me feel old." Slithers looked up from his desk, a twinkle in his eye matched by the one in his glasses which, unbeknownst to most, were actually plain glass, a useful prop in his secretarial act,

"Ah but what's the point in being thought an Azor in disguise if you can't act the part occasionally?" Ral could only shake his head as he shucked on his coat,

"You are a strange, strange man Si."

"Must be the company I keep; now hurry or you'll be late."

"As you command pater," Ral muttered, though his tone was laced with respect as he ducked through a cunningly-concealed gap between two panels in the haphazard room, moving quickly towards the hidden teleportals set up to various secluded areas around the district. Most of the guildmages had made use of them over the years and Ral more than most; _the legacy of a misspent youth, worth it for the memories though_ ; but this time, he thought to himself as he stepped through the coruscating portal and vanished with a crack, he had a legitimate good reason for it.

That the reason might have been to integrate himself with a new friend at the expense of an older one might take the shine of his intentions, but one step at a time…

XXX

Some hours later, thinking about the meal he'd just been part of and with the words 'ménage a trois' bouncing round his mind, Ral pulled himself into the present as a now-familiar voice met his ears,

"Right we've made our decision, dare I ask what yours is?"

"Who dares wins Chandra; what was this illusion you needed?"

"Yes," the hiss was reflexive and filled with joy; only the presence of so much delicate-looking machinery around stopped the adoptive Regathan leaping like a demented fish. Ral merely remained where he was, watching her with a faint air of amusement until she calmed down, tucking her eye-catching hair back into place before facing him with a manner of vague professionalism, "thanks a lot Ral, I really owe you one. You got an appointment at the 'Meet?"

"Set for tomorrow," even as her eyebrows rose at the sudden deadline Ral made his move, "unfortunately though I don't work for free."

"Who does – look I'm a bit strapped right now…"

"I don't need money Chandra, and I don't want that either," he said quickly as suspicion suddenly flared in her eyes; _once maybe, not anymore_ ; "two questions, answer them both and we'll call it square, and where did you decide to go in the end?"

"Huh? Oh," only when he glanced towards her hand did Chandra recall her reason for being here, "we're going to that parade the Boros are having later on."

"The Legion? Interesting, not quite my thing though."

"Doubt it'll be mine either but one of the other lays' husband is some kind of bigwig there. Everyone likes her so it was kind of unanimous", Yatta, perhaps even more than Buuthe, was the team mother who everyone, even gruff Morgun or the newlywed Aphrax couple, went to with issues outside of Guild business, "so was that one of your questions?"

"Afraid not; don't worry they're not like that monstrosity outside," Ral assured her before throwing out his first line, "first off I'm just curious what's gone on so far in this game I've just joined? I saw what your opponent's been up, or should I say down to," pricked by the reminder Chandra glowered and forced down a rueful smile at the same time, "what else has gone on, give me the details."

"All of them?" _Can't tell him everything_ ; even as she stalled for a little time she was thinking three steps ahead, trying to work out what she could safely let slip this inquisitive, though admittedly charming stranger, "Alright, on your head and ear be; it started with me visiting the 'Meet. I heard it'd been recently built around the new 'Pact and everything so though why not get a look-in…"

"…and now with your help I'm going to even the scales," what felt only a heartbeat later the firebrand finished her tale, relieved Ral was trying more to stop himself laughing than fish for information, "so about that illusion…"

"H,hold up," with an effort he wrestled down the bubbling mirth and faced her at least semi-seriously, "second question first; how do you know Jace Beleren? It must have been before the Guildmeet and you don't just start a game of fools for nothing – what's your story with him?"

This more than anything was the crux of the matter, the one his now partner in crime had requested he learn before they decided their next moves and he had to agree that out of the two of the gamers Chandra seemed the most likely to talk. _Though if she gives me the whole truth I'll be very surprised, though on the plus side if I'm right about why they don't get on I'll be ten zilos richer_ ; keeping memories of the informal wager he'd shaken on over dinner off his face with practised ease Ral instead watched on politely as Chandra squirmed for a moment, mulled something over in her head and then, reluctantly, began her admission,

"Actually I was going to ask you that", she mumbled, offering a weak smile as Rals' eyebrows rose, "Buuthe told me you're at the Guildmeet a lot due to some council and you knew who I was talking about far too easily to not know the frazzer."

"That's a bit harsh," Rals tone was noticeably cooler and, realising the warning, Chandra nodded in apology, "but yes, I know Jace mostly from his work but also before that – you've heard of the Maze Run I assume?"

"Bits and pieces; you were runner for the Izzet weren't you?"

"As things panned out yes," Ral confirmed evasively, skating over the unsightly episode in his life before moving on to the pertinent details, "I met Jace during the Maze, though I didn't know it at the time one of the other runners was a friend of his. The Maze was a contest and I, well we all wanted to win so we fought; but for him pulling a sudden disappearing act I would have killed them both with a lightning grid," regretful as he was about that incident, for the look of stupefied horror that flashed across Chandra's face; _for me almost being a killer or Jace almost being killed?_ ; he judged it a fair trade, "then when all that blew over I met him again in the Guildmeet. Luckily he was willing to let cold ashes settle; we don't talk all that much but when I need admin doing he's usually my first port of call."

"What does he actually do?" Chandra broke in suddenly, voicing a nagging question, "I know is he works with codes worse than that scrawling you've got out there."

"Dimir reports?"

"That sounds right."

"Yeah, he's often griping about them when I see him"; _usually to Mirko_ ; impossible as it was for Jace to have a heated argument with anyone when the Dimir blood-drinker dug his heels in things occasionally became tepid, "I don't know his job title; he doesn't really talk shop; but he's quite high up, probably head or deputy of the cipher squad. Most of the time he just keeps his head down and hood up, hence why the fact you've got him doing the opposite is so intriguing. You were never…?" the mere look she flashed his way terminated that line of conversation, "…I was going to say close."

Chandra held her glare just long enough for the seated mage to shift uncomfortably before a shake of her head broke it, her voice tinged with aggravation but otherwise wearily accepting as she answered the second question. Having lived a little while on Ravnica she'd been able to imagine a history for herself that tied her neatly to the plane, though its first true test was beginning now,

"We've never been that, in fact before I nearly burned him up in the Guildmeet we'd not seen each other for ages and bumping into him there was a complete fluke. I've only met him a handful of times; first was after I'd turned up something big in the Fourth district; don't bother asking what it was," she sighed, quelling Rals' curiosity by tapping her forehead softly, "thanks to him I can't remember."

"What?" _This must have been years ago_ ; from what he knew of the mind-mage Jace seldom used his mental manipulation unless he absolutely had to, "Doesn't sound like him."

"Well it was; I never forgot that face and promised to beat it to pulp next time I saw it," despite herself Chandras' gauntlet creaked as she balled a fist, the memories of her first duel with the will-bender still sore not just because of her loss but also because of what happened afterwards. With the benefit of hindsight the whole debacle of the Order of Heliud had really begun there, with her theft and Jaces' subsequent recovery of the Dragon Scroll; only years later had the firebrand both realised and been able to admit to herself how badly that loss had shaken her.

Before the mind-mages' arrival she'd been undefeated for over a year, even the senior monks of Keral not able to keep up with her in the circle and that had made her both careless and slack; she'd never accounted for fighting someone with methods so completely different to her own and he had taken advantage completely, outthinking her even before they'd summoned their first waves of mana. Had she not been so thoroughly undone (and, as she realised privately once her fury at his victory had died down, fortunate to be alive – the stranger had taken her memories when he could have slit her throat) she would have been in a better mood when Mother Luti offered her as an escort to Samir and she might not have destroyed that ghost warden, sparing part of the Great Western wood from carbonisation and herself from the death sentence of the oufes. That would have made the second trip to Kephalai unnecessary and saved all involved that fire and death but tempting as it was to dump all the blame on the mind-mages' shoulders Chandra knew better. Driven by his fixation Walbert would have come for her regardless and probably used Gideon to do so, and at any rate their mad adventures after her second heist had liberated Diraden from darkness, Regatha from a mad priests' power-hunger and herself from the ghosts of her past, so all was well that ended well; _not that Jace will ever find that out – if we ever duel again he'll be the one walking away with amnesia!_ ;

"Anyway a few years pass and I was on the trail of something else, some kind of lost fire scroll hidden away deep in Gruul territory, guarded by something big; usual district legend, you know? What I didn't know was that whatever I stahhh, liberated with a little too much force," she corrected herself delicately, though Rals' knowing look told her she'd done nothing to fool him; _though on the plus side I'm not getting a lecture – what do you know, not everyone older than me's a complete kill-joy_ ; "was a map to this thing and Jace managed to translate it. I'm dealing with the guardian, some mad old Gruul shaman who's turning himself into a gods-know-what trying to eat me, when he shows up; we made a rogues' pact to split the treasure and took the guard down together, though all three of us got knocked out doing it. I woke up first, realised the 'dragons' eye' was just a big chunk of semi-precious stone and the whole thing had been a waste of time, slapped Jace awake and told him about it then left. We've barely swapped a dozen sentences before now but after he got me kicked out the Guildmeet I wasn't going to let that lie; Boomer said she needed a Gateless to test her dye, I suggested a name and tested it for her," neither she nor Ral couldn't hold a grin at the memory, "then, and I wasn't expecting this, he asked if we could just talk things out and we ended up in this game. That's about all there is to it," she concluded with a shrug, somewhat relieved to unburden herself of that faux-history and even more relieved Ral seemed to have brought it,

"Wow," the Izzet admitted after a short pause, "I knew he had something in his past he didn't like to share but I never suspected that. He, and you I suppose, you were treasure-hunters?"

"Not official ones," Chandra falsified on the spot, making a mental note to find out what or who the treasure-hunters were as the guildmage whistled,

"No wonder he kept it quiet; unofficial treasure-hunters have a nasty habit of finding their earlobes nailed to their knees when the official ones catch up to them. You got out of it?"

"I got a better offer after, well, after Boomer made a name for herself."

"Smart girl; well that's my two," Ral said, drawing the questioning session to a close; _I'm sure she's not lying but she's not telling the whole truth – Jace couldn't have been a treasure-hunter, could he? No, I just can't see it – did he follow that map thinking she might be in danger? Probably not_ ; Ral reckoned he knew the Guildpact well enough to guess that if he had travelled into Gruul territory it had been to follow up a clue or rumour; Chandra being there had just been a bonus; _still, nice to think he could have a bit of gallantry in him_ ; "so, what was this illusion you needed?"

"What? Oh, of course," she'd been so lost down the lane of her memories she'd almost forgotten but, reminded, she plucked a sheet of parchment and an ink-stick from the guildmages' desk and beginning to scribble, "okay picture something like this but bigger, much bigger…"

XXX

At a sharp whistle Buuthe looked over in time to catch the small sphere tossed to her,

"Go alright?"

"I was on the case, was it ever in doubt – on second thought don't answer that," she was just in time to nip Buuthes' brewing comment in the bud, "what's going on?" The team leaders' face grew more sombre at her question, Buuthe stepping back and letting the youngest member of her team speak over the soft glugging of the cheap wine he was pouring into what Chandra hoped was a recently cleaned bucket,

"Old Izzet rite," Hori's voice was half-wistful, half-sorrowful as he shook out the last drops, "just a way to say goodbye."

Chandra said nothing, remembering old pains and willing them softly away as she watched the young electromancer take up a small metal ladle, one that soon began to crackle faintly as he channelled his mana through it with an effort. There was a slight fizzle as its bowl dunked below the surface of the plum liquid, then he stirred it seven times clockwise, muttering something so quietly under his breath she couldn't hear it. She would have stepped forwards to try had she not noticed the rest of the team looking away and granting the apprentice his privacy so instead she remained where she was, not commenting until he appeared and offering one of the small pewter tumblers he'd decanted the electrified liquid into,

"Hope it's a good year," she could almost feel Buuthe's glare drilling her temple but Hori smiled as she took her measure,

"Chief chose it, blame her if it's not to your taste." Nodding wordlessly Chandra held the cool, heavy metal in her hand and watched as the child; _not much older that Dorun – gods living in this city makes me feel old_ ; pass out the others before taking the last and raising it slowly,

"Guildmage Kalazzat," despite the quaver in his voice he swallowed down the lump in his throat, "taken too soon."

"Too soon," the remainder of the team repeated lowly, Chandra catching up with them just in time to knock back her tot in tandem with the others. The wine was hot and slightly sour, though she fought off a grimace in time to hear Morgun speak, the metallurgists' gravelly tone slightly softer than normal,

"Well said lad."

"Thanks," Hori sighed, hoisting his tray to take in the empty glasses, "just hope I don't have to say it again. I know, I know," he pre-empted the sceptical look on Siara's face with a raised hand, "some hope but it's better than nothing."

"Very true Hori, you did very well," Buuthe told him as her tumbler hit the tray with a clink, "I cried when I raised my first tot and we'd been putting bets on how long it'd take Guildmage Rolix to finally flare out."

"I remember him," Morgun chipped in, grinning slightly, "wasn't he the one you water-lovers called 'Red-Nose'?"

"That's the one, and we called him far worse than that when the drink-devils had him; man must have had a liver like an Orzhov bank-vault or a pact with one of Rakdos's brood to hang on as long as he did."

"Liked a tipple did he?"

"A tipple; he went into the next life so well-pickled he'd still be burning now if they'd tried cremating him. Anyway, enough speaking ill of the dead however much they might deserve it"; _there's a story worth hearing_ ; the disgruntled look on Buuthes' face was filed away for future reference in the back of Chandras' mind, "I think that's about all we can do today; hopefully we'll be better peopled tomorrow and we can move on with testing the last few reagents. If we can crack yellow paint we'll have pretty much done it, with all the primary colours made it's just a case of blending them to get most of the others so get yourselves off,"; _early let off?_ ; the surprise of the announcement was swiftly followed by triumph; _great, now I can get that damned Simic report done and have another burden off my back!_ ; "back tomorrow usual time please, we can give the others the good news then if they're in."

"One of them will be; I live near Yatta," Hori explained as the others glanced his way, "come on she's really the reason we're going to this parade; no way she's missing it because her other half's got her chained to the sink at home!"

"I highly doubt Nulic chains his wife anywhere…

"…He wouldn't dare."

"…quite," Buuthe rode her archivists' butting in with practiced aplomb, "but that's a nice idea Hori, let her know – it'll do her good to get out the house for a bit after all this rush to get the selection ready. Poor Yatta," remembering the other woman with fondness Buuthe couldn't stop herself smiling, the expression only broadening as it was reflected back in the faces of her team, "only person I know who'd lay for the Izzet for a bit of peace and quiet!"

XXX

She was still smiling when she kicked her boots off and called out her usual greeting,

"I'm back, where's dinner?" A blonde head poked around the door of the living room, Jara's face confused,

"You're early Chan, anything wrong?"

"No," the pyromancer huffed, facing the girl and putting her hand on her hips in exasperation, "why do you always assume something wrong, you worry too much."

"An' you don't worry enough", unseen by the girl Chandra bit her lip; that was one of Dorlunn's favourite ripostes during their frequent disagreements, "anyway, why you back early?"

"Not many of us in today, not much we could do so…" she froze mid-pace, looking around suspiciously, "where's the bug-catcher?" Jara sighed,

"In here wi' me," she admitted, stepping out the lounge door and gently shutting it behind her to assuage her lodgers' phobia, "he's not tha' bad."

"I don't care, he's already shocked me once today, I don't need a repeat," the firebrand said with feeling, "speaking of him though where's Dorun, or your mother? On the common?"

"Yeah, went to chop a bit of common wood and hunt berries, they're bit late though," the middle child of the Ruz family admitted, tapping the closed door softly with the short-handled broom she used for her sweeping chores, "could you…?"

"Already on it," somehow Chandra beat even her quickest reflexes and Jara was left squeaking in outrage as her hair was ruffled into a mop as the tall women strode past with her boots in hand, "don't scowl; if the wind changes you'll be stuck that way."

"Stop messin' my hair up!"

"Why, it's fun," the firebrands' smile deepened into a challenging leer, "and anyway how are you going to stop me?" Jara met her eyes with a glower for a heartbeat but couldn't hold it, though before she could start gloating the childs' head snapped back up; there was ice in her eyes and a devil in her smile as she snapped a hand out to the side, her next command making the pyromancers' blood run cold,

"Get'er Spindles!"

 _That girl is way too much like her mother_ ; some minutes later and with the danger behind her Chandra was only grateful there hadn't been anyone to see her flight, the desperation to escape the multi-legged horror combined with not wanting to ruin another pair of leggings in the alley mud resulting in her hopping ungainly out the back door as she tried to run and put her boots on at the same time; _too much like Mother Luti too now I think about it. Jara for Mother Abbess_ ; the thought made her both shudder and snigger; _Keral wouldn't know what hit it! Now where are the other three?_ Despite not being a native to the district (or, indeed, the plane) Chandra had a rough knowledge of the Thistlewrought and the common that bound it together; the closest bushes that bore fruit this time of year were over to the west so that was where she went, taking her time and enjoying the fresh air after the magical tang that suffused the boilerworks. _So many people, so many who just don't know what life's like outside their community, never mind their district_ ; despite being garbed as an Izzet Chandra instantly knew she was an outsider here – more than one of the denizens of the Thistlewrought outright stared as she meandered past, trying to remember if they knew the tall, half-armoured stranger.

That could have been her lot had her life been different, had the fire never awoken inside; many times when sleep was distant Chandra found herself staring at the ceiling wondering if such a lot would have been better or worse than her actual fate. Would she have been happy with a normal life, her boastings of wanting bigger things matured into appreciation of the simple joys of hearth and home had a family and children calmed her as her parents had wished? She would never know and while one on level she would never swap the power and freedom her Spark had given her, another was afflicted by profound melancholy both by the cost of igniting that power and that it had forever sealed off that path in her life. _I love walking through ashes, shame they get up the nose of everyone I'd walk with_ ; even as she smiled the expression curdled – flippant as her surviving writings were, it often seemed to Chandra that even the mythical Jaya Ballad knew something of the isolation of a planeswalker; _some things never change._ Exhaling heavily to cast off the sudden gloom that had enshrouded her Chandra looked up in time to brighten fully, waving at the sight of two and a half familiar figures, the third half-lost behind an armful of odd-cut wooden logs,

"Got enough there Dorun?" She joked, relieving him of a few so he could see where he was going,

"More than; what are you doing back Chan?"

"Half-day; why are you three out on the Common?" She answered his question with one of her own, looking from the boy to his mother, "Jara was wondering where you'd got to." Dorlunn glanced up at her, then across and down,

"Ran into a very laden berry bush," Klobud attempts to look innocent were undermined by his juice-stained hands and face, a sight that made Chandra snicker in sympathy – there wasn't a former youngster of the Keep who hadn't been caught in the gardens scrumping sweetberries at least once, "then some new neighbours."

"Really?" Looking over her shoulder the firebrand saw two indistinct shapes moving away from them all. They must have been speaking to Dorlunn recently and were now almost lost to distance; the only thing she could definitely make out was that both wore grey tunics, an unusual colour for an Izzet-heavy area of town, "Looking to move in are they?"

"Maybe; I told them to find somewhere safer," the older woman muttered, her sudden bout of bile soon swallowed as she pulled ahead of the other three, "doubt they'll heed me though, no-one ever listens to sour old folk regardless of how sweet our words are. Let's be home; berry crumble tonight if you leave enough for us Klo."

"I'ill mama," the youngster promised, swallowing the last one in his mouthy guiltily and not touching another as the four left the Thistlewrought. Holding the door open to both let the others in first and avoid an eight-legged ambush Chandra reflected on the day as the sun began to wane, its rays glinting off the cobbles around her as she sat on the step and unlaced her footwear; _shame about that poor Guildmage, but overall it's been a good day. Early off, a real treat two days from now, berry crumble tonight and best of all_ ; a flicker of mischief crackled in her amber eyes as assuredly as Hori's mana had through the wine of his tot; _knowing someone else is going to have a real shock tomorrow!_

A/N: But what does the fire mage have planned for our intrepid will-bender, and could Jace have seen it coming? Ral is hardly the most trustworthy sort, will (or, should anyone within the 'Meet suspect his motives, can) he really come through for someone who's just a lay-woman, and if he does what else might he ask should Chandra need his help again, and does he really believe her story? The battle rages on…

Card of the Chapter:

Uneducated Guess – Sorcery – 1R – Kicker 2R. Draw a card, then discard a card from your hand. If you paid the kicker cost, instead exile a card from your hand face down and choose target opponent. That opponent guesses the type of the exiled card ( _the card types are instant, sorcery, land, creature, artefact, enchantment and planeswalker_ ). If your opponent guesses right, exile the card. If your opponent guesses wrong, return the exiled card to your hand and draw two cards – _Two words never used to describe me - 'deliberate' and 'orthodox' – Chandra Nalaar._


End file.
